Madam Chan
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Nov 8, 2021
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
DREAM SEQUENCE
EXT. SOMEWHERE - DAY
PETER is observing a bespectacled MADAM (50s) doing something.
PETER (V.O.): What's she dong? Why's she here? Who's she?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh! Madam Chan!
RETURN TO PRESENCE
INT. BEDROOM - DAY
Peter is waking up.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, I was dreaming, I haven't seen Madam Chan since 1976. Am I missing her? Or is she missing me?
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. SITTING ROOM - YESTERDAY
Smartphone in hand, Peter is watching video clips.
PETER (V.O.): Watching the backstories of celebrities can be entertaining.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the 1960s, Mum bought tabloids to follow movie star stories. I read some too.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Who can resist glamour? Who wouldn't dream to become a movie star?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Glamour looks eloquent but seldom talks.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Do movie stars live real or fake lives? The online gossip stories shed some lights.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): During the hey days of Cantonese movies, I worked as a part-time waiter in Castle Peak Hotel.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Some movie sets were shot there. While serving some movie stars, I observed their demeanours and overheard their chats.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As an outsider, I didn't know how industry was being operated.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From the online gossip stories, I inferred that most producers then believed cast was king. And they competed for the right casts to secure box-office receipts.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Even unlawful tactics were used. It appeared that the Police didn't do much. In Feb 1974, ICAC was established.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I joined the Housing Department in May 1974. I was assigned to Kwai Shing Estate and was in charge of the housing management of Block 17.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Block 17 was special. It's tenants were mostly retired Police Officers and their families.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Madam Chan was the wife of a retired Police Sergeant. She was proactive in establishing a Mutual Aid Committee which was something new then.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We worked together to make it happen. She was elected the Committee's Chairlady.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the Committee's Inauguration Dinner, I was surprised that she presented me with a plaque imprinted with “加官進爵".
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Months later, she asked me if I had a girlfriend. She meant to introduce a good girl to me.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After my transfer to Lai King Estate in 1976, we've gradually become disconnected.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And that was some 45 years ago. Madam Chan should be about 100 years old by now.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
Peter does some finger-counting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to Madam Chan's “加官進爵" blessing, I did have 7 promotions thereafter, and I got a SBS in 2014.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): However, I'm still curious about what might happen if the good girl was introduced to me.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): What's good about dreaming is that I can be with those who are impossible to be with in reality.
Peter searches photos in his smartphone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Ha! I've found a photo of mine taken in front of the Kwai Shing Estate office in 1976.
FADE OUT
THE END
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