Logline

A shut-in gamer is drawn to a cry for help from next door and decides to leave his room for the first time in ages. What greets him is a man in a bathtub of ice, mixed with his own blood.

Idea

A dying man teaches a wasteful youth his deepest lesson on living.

 

Synopsis

One hot mid-day, Zhi Xiong (26) is playing a first person shooter game to the sound of loud japanese pop when suddenly a barrage of loud banging from the neighbours distracts him and causes him to lose his match. In a fit of rage, slams the itunes pause button, shouts back at the neighbour and returns the favour in frustration. Cooling down in the silence, he suddenly hears a soft whimpering voice,

“Help me… Call the police… Please… Help…. help…”.

In a fit of selfishness, he scoffs a few curse words before resuming his gaming regime to the sound of loud music. However, something grips his cold heart and he entertains the thought of a real accident.

“Hey, are you there? What happened. Oie! What happen?!”

A soft coarse voice tells him of a tub of ice water and blood everywhere. Zhi Xiong grabs his mobile phone and dashes for the door, hesitating to turn the knob of his room door. He overcomes and takes some time to find the gate keys. Finding the neighbour’s door ajar, he dashes into the bathroom only to see a gruesome scene of blood, ice and a dying man. He struggles to find composure but manages an emergency call.

Dipping his hands into the ice, the blood shields the wound from his eyes. He tries to lift the man out of the water but the man stops him, mouth trembling as if wanting to speak.

In the next minute, he shares a moment with the dying man and takes a dying will with much difficulty. The man fades away into death, leaving Zhi Xiong a lesson on the act of living.