The View From the Footbridge

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 09:15

6. 
   

7. Morning light slants through a window. PETER, in casual wear, sits on a sofa. He taps a weather app on his smartphone screen.

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9. PETER (V.O.): Oh, there's a cold weather warning.

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11. Peter works through lessons in Korean, German, Portuguese, Italian and Japanese with taps, inputs and pronuniciations. Notifications pop up. Peter checks the time: 10:15

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13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't have the time to do my Spanish and French lessons now. The public pool's morning session closes at noon.

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15. Grabbing his swim bag and headsets, Peter turns and heads for the door with rehearsed urgency.

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17. EXT. BUS STOP, SHUI PIN TSUEN - 11:15

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19. Getting off from a double-decker bus, Peter races across a football pitch, making his way in the direction of the Yuen Long Stadium.

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21. PETER (V.O.): I'd rather not eat first and wait for the afternoon session to begin.

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23. Running.

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25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can finish a continuous 500-meter swim using four strokes in under 25 minutes.

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27. Act 2

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29. EXT. PUBLIC POOL, YUEN LONG - 12:15

31. With his hair still damp, Peter sits on a bench, studying Spanish and French using the Duolingo app. We hear the joyful chimes of success.

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33. PETER (V.O.): Another daily routine done. I think I'll have lunch in a restaurant in Yuen Long Plaza.

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35. EXT. ELEVATED PEDESTRIAN FOOTBRIDGE - 12:30

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37. Peter climbs the steps of the covered footbridge that spans a busy multi-lane Castle Peak Road. Halfway across, he stops. Leaning against the railing, he looks at the buildings on either side.

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39. PETER (V.O.): On the left is Man Cheong House. The mezzanine floor with the "To Let" sign was the Squatter Control Office from the 1970s.

40. 
    

41. His gaze fixes at the windows of the vacant mezzanine floor.

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43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was just office partitions and filing cabinets.

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45. Recalling.

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47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I had a table and a chair there from 1976 - 1980..

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49. Pausing.

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51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My work was primarily outdoor-based, and I had to use my personal car for official purposes.

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53. Pausing.

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55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I obtained my driving licence in 1976, and I loved driving my pre-owned metalic blue Ford Capri 1.6 GT .

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57. Peter's eyes drift to the G/F of the building on the right - a restaurant.

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59. MONTAGE OF THE SAME PLACE

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61. A. TOYOTA SHOWROOM (1980). Peter (26), looking proud and anxious, stands beside a brand new sleek white Toyota Corolla SR 5-Speed. SALESMAN#1 hands him the keys. A big smile on Peter's face.

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63. B. NISSAN SHOWROOM (1989). Peter (35), looking assured, stands beside a sporty, red Nissan 200 SX. He accepts the keys from SALESMAN#2 with a confident nod.

64. 
    

65. RETURN TO PRESENT

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67. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the Nissan 200SX. My mid-life crisis. Pure. Mechanical joy. Still got it in my NT home. Can't let it go.

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69. Peter looks from the "To Let" sign to the restaurant, and back.

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71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Over 40 years. They're just premises. Brick, glass, changing logos.

72. 
    

73. Pausing.

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75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But they had my days. My youth.

76. 
    

77. Pausing.

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79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The past isn't just in my mind; it's also embedded in the landscape.

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81. Peter takes a deep breath.

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83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The cold air is sharp in my lungs.

84. 
    

85. Pausing.

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87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Still, I've the privilege of this moment - of being here, of remembering, of still having a body that can swim and carry me to this spot.

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89. Peter takes a photo of the view from the footbridge and gives the buildings another long look.

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91. Pausing.

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93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Towns edit themselves, deleting chapters without a trace. Standing here is like holding the only surviving copy of a forgotten book - my own.

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95. Peter turns and continues across the footbridge, heading towards Yuen Long Plaza.

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97. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Within my daily rituals lie the potential for unexpected connections and profound personal insight.

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99. Pausing.

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101. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The memories, now fully awakened, walk softly beside me.

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103. Act 3

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105. INT. LIVING ROOM - 21:30

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107. Peter uploads a photo showing the Yuen Long section of the Castle Peak Road, viewed from an elevated pedestrian footbridge, with buildings, light rail tracks down the center to a draft on his laptop.

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109. PETER (V.O.): The view from the footbridge isn't a panorama of the town; it's a rearview mirror into my own life, framed by places I can't return to.

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111. Thinking.

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113. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Everyone below is on a journey from A to B. Up here, I take the only journey that matters: from then to now.

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115. Reflecting.

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117. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The footbridge teaches me that the most important crossings aren't spatial, but temporal.

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119. The END

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121. FADE OUT