Easters
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Apr 10, 2020
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. MINI - STUDY - DAY
Peter makes a call.
PETER : ...Easter is coming but I haven't got the case files yet. Is my April 14 schedule on?
VOICE (From phone): Yes, it's on. We're still preparing the papers...
Pausing.
PETER: And you are?
SHARON (O.S.): Sharon, Mr Cheung.
PETER (V.O.): My Sharon was Mrs Cheung.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I would have declined the job if my Easter trip to UK wasn't cancelled. My wife and I meant to visit our younger daughter there. But she has already returned to Hong Kong due to the pandemic.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We've never stayed home during Easters...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Should we have a local outing? Let me drive around the NT first...
Act 2
EXT. ROADS - DAY
Quite a lot of traffic. Peter's driving a silver coupe of the 1990s.
PETER (V.O.): Internally, Hong Kong hasn't any lockdown. Having gone through the SARs experience in 2003, people in Hong Kong abide by the pubilc hygience standard. Life has to go on even during the pandemic.
Peter parks his car near a premises.
INT. PREMISES, NT - DAY
Peter walks up and the down the staircases, inspecting rooms in each floor. Seeing a photo embedded in a frame in a shelf, Peter picks it up.
PETER (V.O.): We were in Wales during the Easter of 1987...
FLASHBACK
INT. NORTHFIELDS, ENGLAND - DAY (1987)
A small car rental place. A car key and a booklet in hand, the PROPRIETER (50s) talks to Peter (32).
PROPRIETOR: The car is new. It's probable that the car's mileage might reach 1000 miles during your rental. If possible, could you take it to Nissan's centre for a service so that I won't lose the manufacturer's warranty.
PETER: I'll try, but won't promise.
PROPRIETOR: Fair enough.
EXT. COUNTRY ROADS, WALES - DAY
His wife SHARON (31) is at the passenger seat, Peter drives up and down the meadows.
PETER: Our last Christmas trip was hectic. This Easter trip in England and Wales should be a very leisurely one.
Sharon nods.
PETER: Apart from B&Bs, we will stay in a farmhouse to get a new experience.
EXT. FARMHOUSE, WALES - DAY
Sheep, Peter and Sharon are in a meadow.
SHARON: Let me take a picture for you.
Nodding, Peter poses by a wooden fence.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.): Yes, Sharon was the photographer. Then, we thought we had all the time in the world.
Remembering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We did take the rental car to a Nissan Centre in Wales for service. As a result, the proprietor let us have an extra day of use at no cost.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We visited several Walsh lakes. We enjoyed our time together.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In summer 1992, I did mean and say to Sharon that if we could swap our destinies, I would swap mine for hers without any hesitation...
After sighing, Peter takes a shot of the photo with his smart phone.
Act 3
INT. SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
Reclining in a massage car, Peter looks blank.
PETER (V.O.): How come my lower back is so painful? Could it because of the traffic jams and I sat too long in my coupe seat? Or did I walk up and down the stairs too many times?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Or just because I'm old? When we were having our holidays in England and Wales, I was only half of my age now.
INT. MINI - STUDY - DAY
Picking up an iPad mini by his side, Peter sees a flickering screen. He turns it off and then knocks its back a few times.
PETER (V.O.): See if it works.
After some taps on the screen, Peter watches a video clip from beginning to end.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, it's OK again, at least for now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I bought it in 2014 and made a lot of music-videos with it. It's quite old.
His MAID appears at the door.
MAID: Would you like to have something?
PETER: Yes, please.
PETER (V.O.): I need to energize myself physically if I can have more Easters to remember.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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