While I Still Can

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

5. INT. BEDROOM - 07:30

7. The phone alarm rings, slicing through the silence. PETER brinks at the clock.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Come Saturday morning, I've got to work.

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11. He sits up, rubbing his eyes, and throws back the covers.

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13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Castle Peak Immigration Centre is far from my urban home. I always drive there.

14. 
    

15. Pausing.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I always aim to arrive early.

18. 
    

19. Pausing.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After work, I'll go swimming in Golden Bay. Then back to my home in NT.

22. 
    

23. With a determined nod, he stands, ready to face the day ahead.

24. 
    

25. Act 2

26. 
    

27. EXT. PARKING LOT, CAFETERIA OLD BEACH - 10:15

28. 
    

29. Sunny. After parking his red coupe, Peter, in a suit, steps out.

30. 
    

31. PETER (V.O.): Noticing an elderly man in a suit under the summer heat, the guards easily recognize that I'm a lawyer.

32. 
    

33. MONTAGE OF PETER'S ACTIVITIES IN CASTLE PEAK IMMIGRATION CENTRE

34. 
    

35. A. Reception. Peter deposits his mobile phones in a secure safety deposit box.

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37. B. Check point. Peter presents his legal visit letter, identification card and barrister card to GUARD#1 for verification.

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39. C. Waiting room. Peter presents his identification card and barrister card to GUARD#2 for verification.

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41. D. Corridors. Peter, together with an OFFICER and an INTERPRETER, are led by GUARD#3 through a serious of buzzing doors.

42. 
    

43. E. Visitation room. The party meet their CLIENT.

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45. F. Visitation room. After work, the party leaves. Their client stays behind.

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47. END MONTAGE

48. 
    

49. EXT. GOLDEN BAY - 12:30

50. 
    

51. A sweeping, windswept bay at high tide. Peter is now out of his suit and tie. Chosing a spot near a lifeguard tower, Peter undresses, revealing his already worn swimming briefs.

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.): Weather permitting, I swim every day, keeping my ritual as simple and efficient as possible.

54. 
    

55. Peter swims. Each stroke is deliberate, a mechanical process of reach, pull, breathe. Later, he swims back to shore using butterfly stroke.

56. 
    

57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Strength isn't a reservoir I draw from, but a discipline I practise, every day, while I still can.

58. 
    

59. Peter submerges himself in water.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The weight of memory is a choice. I can let it anchor me to the sea floor, or I can let it go, one object at a time, while I still have the breath to swim to the surface.

62. 
    

63. INT. PETER'S NT HOME - 14:00

64. 
    

65. Living room. Boxes, books and papers are everywhere. Peter moves a box of books. Legal textbooks from the 1980s. He flicks through one, sees his own marginal notes.

66. 
    

67. PETER (V.O.): They can still serve as decorative elements.

68. 
    

69. Peter opens a box marked "Memories". His hand rests on a stack of letters. He closes his eyes for a beat.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Some were from Uncle Wang... Keep.

72. 
    

73. Pausing.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The great peace isn't having everything, but in having just enough, and knowing I chose it all myself, while I still could.

76. 
    

77. Peter picks up a framed thank-you certificate and studies it intently, his thumb gliding over the glass.

78. 
    

79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Perhaps, it's better to leave it for now.

80. 
    

81. Pausing.

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The work is tiring.

84. 
    

85. He stops to massage his lower back.

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Going up and down the staircases to put things in their proper place only makes it worse.

88. 
    

89. Peter heads to the kitchen to grab an ice lolly and then an ice cream. After enjoying them, he tosses the wrappers into a trash bag.

90. 
    

91. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I throw them readily.

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93. Peter picks up the trash bag. He puts it by the front gate for collection. He looks back at his house.

94. 
    

95. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's still a mess, but it feels lighter.

96. 
    

97. Pausing.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Mortality's greatest gift is the deadline it imposes, forcing me to decide what is essential before the chance is gone.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. BEDROOM - 22:00

105. On a draft in his laptop, Peter uploads an image of his red coupe with its doors open, parked in a parking lot. In the background, the Castle Peak Immigration Centre stands majestically.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): I fight for others through law, I battle the tide of the bay, and I tackle the clutter in my own home. Each struggle is part of the same fight. I must engage in it while I still can.

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The urgency of "while I still can" is the wisest choice within me. It acknowledges the reality of time yet insists that the moment to act is now.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I build my legacy not in any grand pronouncements, but in the daily, stubborn acts I do while I still can.

116. 
     

117. FADE OUT

118. 
     

119. END