Bus Stop No.7
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 07:45
PETER lies in bed, the soft glow of morning light filtering through the curtains.
PETER (V.O.): Another beautiful day.
Peter sits up and looks at his sleeping WIFE.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After breakfast, I'll drive to Silverstrand to swim.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I return, my wife is just about to wake up.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When my wife heads to the gym in the afternoon, I'll take the bus to my NT home.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): I'll stop over in Yuen Long to enjoy wonton noodles at the Mak's.
Act 2
EXT. ESTATE BUS STOP No. 7 - 19:30
Peter scans the empty road leading into the darkened estate. Later, a bus appears, Peter focuses on its glowing destination board.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, this one returns from Central. I've never taken it before.
Passengers alighting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I worked in the Attoreny General's Chambers in Central from 1985, I had already bought my second home on the Hong Kong island side.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Before that, I was studying law at HKU and waited at this bus stop for the early morning bus to Tsuen Wan...
FLASHBACK
EXT. ESTATE BUS STOP No. 7 - 06:30 (1983)
The same shelter, but fresher. Dawn paints the sky bruised purple. Peter (29) appears. His hair is dark and thick.
PETER (V.O.): I can't afford to miss the bus as I don't want to be late for the morning law lectures.
An estate bus pulls up.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Just hope that there's a vacant seat for me. I'm boarding at Bus Stop No. 7.
We see the bus driver check for a vacant seat before opening the door to let Peter board.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From Tsuen Wan, I'd take the MTR to Central and then catch another bus to HKU.
EXT. ON ROUTE TO HKU - CONTINUOUS
Seated, Peter pulls out a Walkman, puts on earphones and presses Play.
PETER (V.O.): Time to memorize...I've recorded the legal principles.
Peter closes his eyes, immersed in the repetitive playback.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My classmates are young and bright. I'm old and dull.
Peter repeats his way of memorizing in the Central-bound MTR carriage and on the bus to HKU.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was never late for the morning law lectures.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But, by the end of each day, I felt exhausted and had no energy left to walk up the one flight of stairs to the penthouse.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It there're trespassers living in the penthouse for a month, I wouldn't have a clue.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Just then, I was in the penthouse, working hard to declutter as best as I could.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Of all the spaces in my NT home, the penthouse is my favourite.
As the last passenger has alighted, the estate bus pulls away.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I envy them; they're the lucky ones who will arrive home before 8pm.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): During my time with the government, I rarely finished work before 9pm.
As another estate bus heading to Yuen Long arrives and pulls up at the stop, Peter hops on quickly.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now, I care less about the law but more on creativity, particularly in screenwriting.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 21:45
Peter uploads an image depicting "Bus Stop No. 7 " to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): The Bus Stop No.7 remembers: the 06:30 dreams of a law student, the 19:40 sighs of a man decluttering his past.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At Bus Stop No. 7, time folds, the bus that brought me home young now carries me away old - same stop, different destinations.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't just wait for buses at Bus Stop No. 7, I wait for versions of myself that never boarded.
FADE OUT
END
Comments