The Stamp

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 15:00

6. 
   

7. PETER notices a compact CD player on the table has stopped working.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Let me turn it on again. Where's the remote?

10. 
    

11. Peter scans the clutter: CDs, phone cables. No remote. He heaves himself up with a soft grunt.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I need to begin a slow, methodical search.

14. 
    

15. Cushions are lifted. Files shuffled. Nothing. He moves to a drawer, rummaging through papers, pens, paperclips. His fingers brush against a cheque book and some envelopes.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh yes, I haven't written a cheque to pay my gardener...Today is already Feb 3...

18. 
    

19. He sits at the desk, takes a pen, and writes a cheque with careful deliberation. He tears it out and puts it inside an envelope. He addresses it.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I need a stamp.

22. 
    

23. He can find none.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me go to the Post Office and ask our maid to find the remote for me.

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. INT. POST OFFICE - 16:30

30. 
    

31. A small office. At the counter, a staff MEMBER stares blankly, resting chin on his hand. As Peter enters, the member stands, gesturing Peter to approach him.

32. 
    

33. PETER: 10 $2.2 stamps please.

34. 
    

35. MEMBER: Right.

36. 
    

37. The staff member turns to a book of stamps, tears out 10 and slides it across the counter. Peter pays with his JoyYou card.

38. 
    

39. PETER (V.O.): The stamps showcase Hong Kong's cityscapes and conservation.

40. 
    

41. Peter stares at them. A faraway look enters his eyes.

42. 
    

43. MONTAGE OF PETER'S STAMP COLLECTION IN THE EARLY 1960S

44. 
    

45. A. HOME - DAY. Peter carefully counts the few 5-cent and 10-cent coins in his collection.

46. 
    

47. B. STATIONARY - DAY. Peter stands still, gazing intently at the small packets of stamps availale for sale.

48. 
    

49. C. HOME -DAY. Peter carefully re-arranges the few stamps he has in his album.

50. 
    

51. D. VILLAGE MAILBOXES - DAY. Peter checks his home's mailbox, but finds it empty.

52. 
    

53. END MONTAGE

54. 
    

55. MEMBER (Cont'd): Anything else?

56. 
    

57. PETER: No. Thank you.

58. 
    

59. Peter takes the stamps. He tears out one and sticks it on the envelope. He inserts it into the Office's postbox.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.): Once my gardener receives my cheque, he will place his receipt in the same envelope and drop it into my house's mailbox.

62. 
    

63. Pausing.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The true message was never inside the envelope. It was on the corner. A silent, colourful witness that said, "This travelled. This passed through hands. This mattered enough to send."

66. 
    

67. Recalling.

68. 
    

69. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's the reason why I always prefer to collect used stamps.

70. 
    

71. Pausing.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A stamp's first duty is to leave. It's second, quieter life is to be kept.

74. 
    

75. INT. LIVING ROOM - 17:00

76. 
    

77. Peter returns. The MAID is dusting. On the side table, next to the compact CD player, sits the white remote.

78. 
    

79. PETER: Oh, you've found it. Where did you discover it?

80. 
    

81. MAID: It was in your bedroom, next to a speaker, Sir.

82. 
    

83. QUICK FLASH - PETER'S POV - HOURS AGO

84. 
    

85. Peter takes the compact CD player to the bedroom. The remote is in his hand. Later, he takes just the player back to the living room...

87. BACK TO SCENE

88. 
    

89. PETER: Thank you!

90. 
    

91. PETER (V.O.): The true find is the journey it prompted - the paid bill, the revisited hobby, the reclaimed memory.

92. 
    

93. Pausing.

94. 
    

95. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Aging is a time where the pace slows enough to appreciate layers of meaning in simple acts, and where the past becomes a comfortable presence.

96. 
    

97. Pausing.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And meaning is uncovered in the quiet, procedural spaces of an ordinary day.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. LIVING ROOM - 21:30

105. Peter uploads an image featuring a compact CD player with a colourful turntable, nearby stamps, and a remote control to a draft on his laptop.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): A misplaced thing is a blessing. It sets me on a path. To a drawer, a cheque, a Post Office, a memory. To find one thing, I must first lose myself in a dozen others.

108. 
     

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Youth collects dreams in bright colours. Age collects the quiet evidence that those dreams were once posted, somewhere, to someone.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The stamp left on my own character is far more permanent than any that would ever stick to an envelope.

116. 
     

117. The END

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT