A Bite of Yesterday
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. DINING ROOM - 13:00.
PETER and his WIFE are having lunch. They're eating a meticulously prepared salad: mixed greens, cherry tomatos and boiled eggs.
PETER: The salad is good. Very healthy.
EXT. FAMILY HOME, TIN SUM - 16:30
Open space. A great part of it is covered with cut tree branches, ferns and weeds. The remaining portion is still a jungle of overgrown ferns and weeds.
PETER (V.O.): That portion has already been resumed by the Govt to build the Hung Shui Kiu rail station.
Peter looks at a thick vine that has climbed high on the fence.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe that part is still our land.
Standing on uneven, mossy ground, Peter grabs the vine and pulls it. Then his foot slips on the moss. He stumbles and falls on a pile of wet weeds.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Ugh... I don't want any snake bites...I'm done. I'm going to Golden Bay.
Act 2
INT. DINING ROOM - 19:00
Peter enters. He looks tired, but clean.
PETER (V.O.): Hunger hits me like a wave.
On the table, he picks up a transparent plastic bag filled with small, golden brown chicky cookies. He opens it and shovels a whole cookie in his mouth.
FLASHBACK
EXT. SHA WAN, GUANGZHOU - 11:45 (2 August, 2026)
Peter is walking past a store. He sees a cheerful VENDOR holding a tray of freshly-baked cookies.
VENDOR: Freshly baked chicky cookies! Just out!
Peter freezes.
FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
INT. GRANDMA'S ROOM, TIN SUM - DAY (1960s)
Small. Peter's GRANMA (60s) passes Peter (6-10) a chicky cookie.
GRANDMA: Fai, I know you're hungry, eat it.
He savours it.
PETER (V.O.): It's the only treat Grandma has. It's a luxury. She shares everything with me.
END FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've tasted chicky cookies before. But freshly baked ones?
He looks at the golden treats.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The smell is intoxicating...But I know its main ingredient is pork fat.
Hesitating.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I can't suppress my buying impulse anymore.
He approaches the Vendor.
PETER: May I buy just a few, say RMB5?
VENDOR: No problem.
Peter pays. He can't wait to savour it.
PETER (V.O.): I'm not hungry at all. But I haven't had any chicky cookies for over 60 years.
The freshly baked chicky cookies explode with flavour.
PETER: Wow...I take another bag for RMB10.
He hands her the money and gets a bigger bag of chicky cookies.
PETER (V.O.): I know I'll be the only one to finish them.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The taste floods my senses.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I deny myself joy in the name of health, forgettng joy is the healthiest thing of all.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A bite is a moment. A memory is a lifetime. When I eat with my heart, I'm tasting both at once.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Memories don't fade because I stop thinking about them. They fade because I stop tasting them.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:30
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows a bag of freshly-baked crispy chicky cookies.
PETER (V.O.): A bite of yesterday is never just food. It's a time machine made of flour, pork fat and sugar, carrying me back to a home where someone loved me dearly.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Today, I fell, I swam, I ate chicky cookies. I remembered. That's enough.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A bite of yesterday is the only honest answer to the question: Who am I now?
The END
FADE OUT
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