Honey (I Miss You)
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Feb 15, 2021
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY
Sitting in a corner and working on his laptop, Peter is listening to the oldies. We hear Young Girl, the song.
PETER (V.O.): I was then in my adolescence, dreaming in my hit-song world. In which year was the song Young Girl released?
Peter surfs the web with his phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was in 1968. It was number 2 and didn't reach number 1 in the Chart. Bobby Goldsboro's song, Honey (I Miss You), got the top spot.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I was a sunshine boy and preferred Young Girl. Honey was sad and I didn't like it.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Honey was released on Feb 17, 1968. I was in Form 2, attending an all-boy morning class at Shung Tak College in Yuen Long.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I loved hit songs and sang a lot. I also cared about my look.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. SITTING ROOM - EARLIER
Peter is typing on his phone.
PETER (V.O.): A Quoran's answer request is deep: When has it ever struck you how lucky you are to be alive?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was only when I entered adulthood that I learned that only 1 out of around 5000 sperm can actually penetrate and fertilize the egg.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And then a cell is formed, containing all the genetic information necessary to form a new being.
Peter continues to type.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Quoran further asks what happened to bring this realisation to my awareness.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Aware of my lucky existence, I observe the characteristics that define me as an individual, investigating who I am.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was only recently that I'd concluded that the meaning of life is to procreate and create, sustaining the life force.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Earlier, there was another answer request from another Quoran: What is your biggest accomplishment you brought into 2021?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For awhile, my mind is quite blank. I don't procreate anymore. And although I create works, can I characterize my several dozen 2021 short screenplays as my biggest accomplishment?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Someone has also answered the question - in one word: Nothing.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While I'm not obliged to entertain the request, it's a wake-up call for me to reflect on what good value have I delivered in 2021.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Such answer requests from Quorans can be that thought-provoking. Those who really know me won't pose such questions to me.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Have I achieved nothing much in 2021 so far?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Together with like-minded persons, I'm working on a big project. But it'll take lots of capacity and support to make the impact visible and tangible.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So, it seems that I don't have a ready answer to the Quoran request.
Act 3
INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I got other Quora notifications, advising me that a landlord-and-tenant story of mine had been translated into Japanese and Hindi.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My story has already been translated into French (twice), Spanish and Italian. If it wasn't good, who would bother to translate and share it.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At the end of 2020, viewership was 2.4 million. And now, it's approaching 5 million.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've never created a work that had such an impact worldwide. So, that should qualify as my biggest accomplishment in 2021 so far.
RETURN TO PRESENT
Peter brushes his messy hair with his hand.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As I'm in the autumn of my life, I now appreciate the song Honey (I Miss You) more than the song Young Girl.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What I can continue to do in 2021 is to create more works, reflecting on my thoughts about my life, and how well others can live theirs.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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