Columbarium Air
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 12:45
Before him is a lunch box, and PETER is finishing the fried noodles topped with vegetables and sliced pork.
PETER (V.O.): When I return to the New Territories, I seldom eat at home.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My main agenda this afternoon is to visit my Dad in Tsuen Wan.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe I'm the only one who visits him after Ching Ming and Chung Yeung.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We've no special ties to Tsuen Wan; my Dad was placed there out of convenience.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While I know the visit is somewhat ritualistic, I truly feel like doing it.
Act 2
EXT. COLUMBARIUM, TSUEN WAN - 14: 30
The air is cool. Peter stops at a simple plaque, one among thousands,
PETER (V.O.): Dad, I'm here.
Peter gently uses a tissue to wipe away his father's plaque.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's hard to believe it's been 14 years since you left us.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): With Mom at the elderly home, I've taken the role of the family's head, tending to the graves of Grandpa and Grandmas.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Grief has its own atmosphere. For me, it's the cool air of the columbarium.
Peter scans the neighbouring plaques.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Some bear dates showing they died in their forties, fifties and sixties.
Peter takes a deep breath.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The air was heavy with time itself - compressed, labeled, and placed neatly behind marble.
Peter snaps a selfie with the photo of his Dad displayed on the plaque.
PETER (V.O.): Columbarium air doesn't smell of decay, but of absence. A clean, quiet void where lives once resonated.
EXT. GOLDEN BAY BEACH - 15:30
The sea glitters under the afternoon sun. Peter is the only swimmer.
PETER (V.O.): The water is cool and clear.
We follow Peter to focus on the waves as they rise and fall against him.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Inhaling the columbarium silence gave me the courage to exhale into the sea's waves.
Upon reaching the far corner of the swimming area, Peter clutches a set of orange buoys for support.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The risk is real.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One cramp, one missed breath, and the water I love becomes my grave.
Resting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I accept it, the way I accept my age.
As he turns around, Peter starts swimming back to shore.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I'm not too far away from the beach, I'd wrap up my daily swim with butterfly strokes.
A WOMAN, framing a shot of her FRIEND at the beach, also frames Peter's solitary figure rising and falling in the bay waters.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm now part of their memory.
Peter is floating on his back.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I move from the columbarium air to the salty breath of the sea. One to honour my late Dad, the other to defy my own dying.
EXT/INT. PETER'S NT HOME - 18:30
Driveway. Peter parks the Nissan 200SX.
PETER (V.O.): It hasn't been touched for more than a fortnight. It's fortunate that it managed to start up. I've kept this coupe in memory of Sharon, who used to drive it.
Sitting room. Before leaving, Peter looks intently at a framed picture of his late wife displayed on a shelf.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sharon is forever 36.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:30
Peter uploads a photo of the columbarium air to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): A columbarium is a city of urns, and its air is the shared breath of a thousand forgotten souls. I went to ensure my Dad wasn't among them.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Columbarium air is thick with the silence of stories never told to the world, but etched forever on a son's heart.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A great person isn't always famous, but a good father and a good wife are eternal.
FADE OUT
END
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