After the Hospital
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 9:45
Checking his mobile, PETER looks very nervous.
PETER (V.O.): No message from my wife.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd) Is she still sleeping?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Or is she unsure how to respond to her condition?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No, I won't wait for her message. I'll simply show up.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): True care is about being there, not fixing things.
Act 2
INT. ST TERRESA'S HOSPITAL - 10:30
Ward. Peter enters and sees his wife sitting up in bed, typing on her phone screen.
WIFE: Oh, you're here. The doctor has just left...
Peter's wife continues to type.
WIFE (Cont'd): I'm sharing the doctor's diagnosis of my condition with the family.
Peter's wife continues to type.
WIFE (Cont'd): Our doctor son's diagnosis of me is very similar to my doctor's.
PETER: Yes, he's a fine doctor too. Are you being discharged today?
PETER (V.O.): Our doctor daughter-in-law has also offered comforting advice...
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And I've shared my thoughts with the help of DeepSeek, but my wife categorically refuses to listen to me.
WIFE: Yes, I need to come back once the full report on all the tests is ready.
WIFE (Cont'd): Meanwhile, we've to wait for the bill.
Peter peels oranges and shares them with his wife.
PETER: Let's finish them all here, instead of taking them home.
Later, we hear a message: ...your bill is ready...
WIFE: Before I leave, I need to use the toilet first.
As his wife has gone to the toilet, Peter relaxes on her bed.
PETER: I want to feel the moment.
After settling the bill at the cashier, Peter's wife checks out at a counter and collects the prescriptions from a NURSE. Peter, carrying a bag for his wife, stays by her side the entire time.
PETER (V.O.): We leave the hospital with two prescriptions: one for the body and one for the mind. The latter is much more challenging to fulfill.
INT. GOLDEN WHEAT THAI RESTAURANT - 13:00
Cosy. Peter and his wife sit by the window.
PETER: Have you been here?
WIFE: No, but I've read good reviews about this restaurant.
They read the menu.
PETER: I'll have Pad Thai.
WIFE: I'll have Thai Curry. Extra Satays on the side.
Soon, they share dishes.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After the hospital, the world feels both more fragile and more beautiful. Like glass held up to the light.
EXT. RIVERSIDE PARK - 17:15
Peter and his wife walk KAJI, the family pet. Kaji sniffs at the grass.
PETER (V.O.): After the hospital, we didn't speak much of it. We just ordered delicious dishes and watched the dog sniff the grass.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them. And attachment isn't about big moments, but the accumulations of small ones.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Hospitals teach me an irony: the place I'm most aware of life is where I'm surrounded by the possibility of losing it.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 21:30
Peter adds an image that illustrates the perspective from a hospital bed to his draft on the laptop.
PETER (V.O): Aging is just the body's way of saying, "I don't have to be perfect anymore".
Thinking.
PETER (V.O) Cont'd): The hospital reminds us we're fragile, The Thai food reminds us we can still taste joy. The dog reminds us we're still needed.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Seventy-one years old, and I finally understood: love isn't the spark. It's the ember- the thing that grows long after the fire burns low.
FADE OUT
END
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