FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 21:00
Sitting by the bedside, PETER is working on a laptop, as his WIFE comes in.
WIFE: Our younger daughter has landed in the Narita Airport. She's going to Ikebukuro to take an overnight coach to Niigata.
PETER: Good!
FLASHBACK
EXT. ROADS - 18:30
Driving his wife, Peter checks the time on the dashboard
PETER: Our younger daughter's flight lifted-off shortly after 3pm, has her plane landed?
WIFE: No, she'll arrive around 8:30pm, Japan time.
PETER: So, one more hour of leisure in flight.
WIFE: Yes.
Act 2
FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
INT. HK AIRPORT - 13:45
Terminal unloading area. Going to the rear of his Previa, Peter unloads two bags and passes them to his WIFE and their younger DAUGHTER.
PETER: Check in first. I'll park the car and see you two shortly.
Later, CX counters. Peter sees his wife and younger daughter in the middle of a queue.
PETER: Is there something wrong with self-service machines?
WIFE: The machine can't read our daughter's Japanese student visa.
Soon, it's their turn.
PETER (V.O.): I feel the big bag is a bit over the weight limit.
We see an electronic display showing 24.5 kg. The counter STAFF just checks it through. Then, she speaks to their younger daughter.
STAFF: Due to overbooking, your seat has been ungraded. As time is tight, go to the departure gate without delay.
Happily, the daughter gets the chits from the staff and leaves.
WIFE: At home, the bag weighed 25 kg. It seems the weighing machine here is in favour of passengers...
WIFE (Cont'd): Apart from accommodating the extra weight readily, our daughter gets an upgrade!
PETER: Yes, very good. Go to the departure gate now...
Departure gates. We see them parting happily.
PETER (To wife): Since we're in Tung Chung, let's go to Citygate Outlets...
WIFE: What an idea! Why didn't you advise me beforehand?
PETER (V.O.): I didn't want to think about our leisure when our younger daughter was still with us.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And I knew you like to go shopping there. When I was travelling solo in June, you volunteered to drive me to the Airport...
MONTAGE OF THEIR LEISURE AT CITYGATE OUTLETS
A. Maje. His wife shops some tweed clothes.
B. Life Kan. His wife buys some kitchen utensils.
C. Outback. They order lots of food and have to take home half of it.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): When we're touring France this July, my wife didn't succeed in buying any tweed clothing.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Originally, we meant just to buy something to get free parking. But my wife bought so much that she also got a free umbrella.
Smiling.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): To celebrate today's fortuitous events, we've followed our elder daughter's practice and gone to Outback.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Before we left for the Airport, I drove my wife to return a medical monitoring device used by our younger daughter to the hospital.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): To have a medical check-up was the main purpose of her return to Hong Kong briefly.
Pausing
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): The medical report isn't out yet. We hope to receive no news from the hospital.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 23:05
Peter inserts an AI drawing entitled "Lift-off to Leisure..." to a draft.
PETER (V.O): With our younger daughter's return to Japan, my wife and I resume the empty-nester phase of our lives.
His wife shares with Peter an image of a coach with the sign "Niigata".
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Our parental instinct is to continue providing support to all of our children even as they become adults.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Caring for them provides us with a sense of purpose, emotional connection and fulfillment.
FADE OUT
THE END
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