For the Humans In Between
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
EXT. ROADS - 12:20
PETER settles in his deep blue 2002 Mercedes E class. Taps his phone. A robotic female voice: Proceed to Tsuen Wan Columbarium. Estimated arrival: 23 minutes.
PETER (V.O.): Last Friday, I missed the turn at Kwai Chung and went straight to Tuen Mun.
Following the GPS guide, Peter takes the fourth exit at a Kwai Chung roundabout.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've never taken such a route...
He stops before traffic lights.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Where were these when I made my past visits?
Soon, we hear: You've arrived.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This is actually a short cut. I used to circle industrial estates...
Peter drives past a check point.
Act 2
EXT - COLUMBARIUM, TSUEN WAN - 12:45
The columbarium rises in stepped concrete terraces, a vertical city of the dead.
Peter walks past rows of plaques - glossy granite, gold-lettered names, faded photographs.
PETER (V.O.): The dead have eternity. The living have next Friday. Show up anyway.
He stops at a column.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A late tribute isn't a failed tribute. It's a tribute that had to fight its way here.
He gazes at a slot.
PETER (V.O.): No dust. Dad's photo is clear and sharp.
Peter touches the frame and his Dad's photo.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The clean plaque means I'm not the only one still holding on. That's not sadness. That's congregation.
Peter pulls out his phone. Holds at arm's length, smiles slightly.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The coming. The remembering. It takes effort.
Click. The selfie shows him - and his father's face behind him.
He puts the phone away. Stands straight. Bows three times, slow and deliberate.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the sky. For the earth. For the humans in between.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Recently, I've developed an interest in quantum mechanics.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It helps me approach big questions eg about the body and the mind in a more grounded way, rather than leaning on speculation.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Atoms don't die. They rearrange.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Mourning isn't about keeping atoms together. It's about learning to recognize them in new forms.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My Dad isn't gone. Just redistributed.
He stays a moment longer. Then turns.
EXT. GOLDEN BEACH - 14:15
Hot sun. A few BEACHGOERS. Peter walks into the water.
PETER (V.O.): The water is warm.
He begins to swim to the buoy line. There, he treads water.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm alive. This is certain. I taste salt. I see the buoys wobbling.
He looks at his own hands underwater.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They move exactly as I command. But what is the I that feels this?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Does consciousness equal to the arrangement that knows it's an arrangement?
Peter takes a long breath.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I miss you Dad, even if your atoms are in the water.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:30
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows the space between sky and earth as seen from a human's perspective.
PETER (V.O.): Between sky and earth, there's only us.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We're all temporary configurations. Which means we're all, for a brief and astonishing moment, configured perfectly.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the humans in between - who get lost, who show up late, who bow to a photograph, and who ask the big question while treading water.
The END
FADE OUT
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