The Weight of Things
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- May 4
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. STUDY/STUDIO- 10:30
Cluttered in its final stages of being emptied.
PETER (V.O.): We've just three days left to clear the space for renovations before my wife and I fly out for our trip in May.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've relocated most of the light weight items I want to keep back to my home in NT.
Peter gazes at the wardrobe.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I need to keep some of my suits at my urban home.
While retrieving his suits, he discovers a car key nestled in a pocket.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since April 1, I've been wonderting where I might have misplaced it. I checked the pockets before but didn't feel the weight of the car key.
Peter takes a photo of the key and sends it to the family chat group with the message: Found it inside a pocket!
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It brightens my day.
Act 2
EXT. ROADS TO AND FROM SILVERSTRAND - 14:OO
Peter is driving a deep blue MB.
PETER (V.O.): I bought it in 2002 to prove to my Dad that I had succeeded.
Driving.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He sat in it only a few times. I rarely take it out.
The dashboard mileage reads around 44,000 kms.
Later, a wet-haired Peter is driving.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I prefer to drive my 2-door coupes over a heavy 4-door sedan.
A car behind speeds past Peter's.
INT. STUDY/STUDIO - 17:00
Peter stares at stacks of books lining the walls.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They aren't just papers or things, they hold knowledge and stories.
Peter pulls out a worn copy of "An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth".
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I studied what is meant by empirical evidence for the truth of a proposition.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I prefer articulate hesitation than inarticulate certainty.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I find it very hard to let go, although I know the cost of holding on too long.
Then, Peter finds some faded photos.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Funny how the lightest objects hold the weight of things I can't let go.
EXT. ESTATE CAR PARK - 18:00
Peter struggles with bags of stuff. After placing them inside his red coupe, he looks relievied.
PETER (Cont'd): I spent my life collecting, the weight of things outlives my strength to carry them.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'll fill most of its space before driving back to my home in NT.
INT. STUDY/STUDIO - 19:00
Peter stares at the Clarvinova.
PETER (V.O.): When we bought it in 1987, it was an innovative product. Sharon would play the keyboard while I strummed the guitar and sang,
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's not the weight of things that break my back - it's the weight of what they mean.
Peter gazes at the boxes and items scattered on the floor.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They've our children's fingerprints.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): An apartment is just walls. The weight of things inside? That's the life my family lived.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I now travel light, and I know the weight of things I leave behind.
Act 3
INT. STUDY/STUDIO - 22:15
Peter inserts an AI drawing titled: "The Weight of Things..." to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O): I forget I even kept a thing...until it's in my hand again. Things are the markers of time, memory and identity.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Since attachment complicates detachment, I won't easily discard anything or anyone.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): On marriage, we measure the weight of things unsaid. We're what we keep or leave behind.
FADE OUT
END
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