The Same Shade of Grey
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 07:30
Cluttered. Lived-in for decades. Pale grey light seeps through half-drawn curtains. PETER lies on his back, eyes open.
PETER (V.O.): Tomorrow, the BYD Sea Lion 7 arrives.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm going to move the SMART city coupe to my NT home today.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've to. There's no room here.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've been driving my SMART city coupe to the bays to swim.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But once it's stored, I'd only drive it very occasionally.
Act 2
INT. LIVING ROOM - 10:15
Compact and comfortable. Sunlight slants through the window. Peter sits on a sofa maintaining his Duolingo streaks. His wife rests in a massage chair, checking WhatsApp messages.
WIFE: Our son reports that the ESP warning light of the Mercedes has come on.
PETER (V.O.): It's 24 years old, although it has clocked just around 50,000km.
PETER: It's timely that our 2026 BYD Sea Lion 7 will arrive tomorrow.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): I'll take the Mercedes to Fat Boy - my car repairer - before that.
His wife nods.
PETER (V.O.): I don't keep the cars because they work. I keep them because they remember.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My Dad sat in the back row of my Mercedes a few times when the car was new.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The seden was proof to my Dad that I'd succeeded.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I paid Fat Boy a lot of money to maintain my old cars. Repairs aside, I get the right to pretend nothing has changed.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As for how the new car models feel, we rent cars most of the time when we travel. That way, I can keep my old cars and still enjoy driving the newer ones.
FLASHBACK
INT. NISSAN CAR RENTAL, NARITA - 19:15 (May 15, 2026)
A modern Nissan March. Peter and his wife pick up the car key. An ATTENDANT bows. Peter is about to take the driver seat.
WIFE: I'll drive first.
Peter hesitates but nods. His wife slides into the driver seat.
PETER (V.O.): My wife worries about my night vision. It's a real concern I wouldn't dismiss.
He takes the passenger seat.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1986, I hired a Nissan March and drove across Britian with Sharon...
Peter takes a deep breath.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And in Tokyo, 40 years later, I'm a passenger in a newer Nissan March.
They pull off.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Nostalgia is the car model - and the dashboard colour - matched.
Peter helps with navigation using GPS.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The past doesn't visit me in grand gestures. It arises in a plastic dashboard, the exact same grey. And I'm 34 again before I can stop it.
Peter is lost in thoughts.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While the plastic wouldn't remember Sharon, I remember her.
Peter watches the moving night scene, but there isn't much to see.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Letting go is easy when things change. When they don't - that's when it hurts.
RETURN TO PRESENT
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:15
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows the grey dashboard of a Nissan March.
PETER (V.O.): The dash board. Its the same shade of grey. Same plastic. Same dull, cheap, beautiful grey.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Grey isn't a time machine. It's just the colour that hasn't changed. Most things do. But the cheap grey plastic stays.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My SMART city coupe is blue. I chose blue for a reason - I love the colour. Love is blue.
The END
FADE OUT
Comments