My DNAs
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Oct 20, 2020
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT - CHA CHAAN TENG - DAY
Finishing their meals, PETER and his SON chat.
PETER: I'm thinking of paying tribute to our ancestors coming Sunday.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): We've missed the Ching Ming one due to the pandemic outbreak.
SON: What's the name of the mountain where our ancestors were buried at its base.
PETER: Oh, it's called Tai Tau Shan or Big Head Mountain.
Recalling.
PETER(Cont'd): When it was young, I read in a travel guide that it's nickname was Nipple Mountain.
Son nods.
SON: As you read about it in a guide, it should be a landscape worth visiting.
Recalling.
Act 2
INT - CHA CHAAN TENG - CONTINUOUS
MONTAGE OF PETER VISITING THE NIPPLE MOUNTAIN BASE (1963)
A. Peter (9) is leading his family MEMBERS. Walking past a watchman shed, they see Chinese cholegraphy on a table, but no one is there.
B. Seeing a delightful clear stream, Peter gets near cheerfully to feel the water with his legs and hands.
END MONTAGE
PETER: In the 1960s, visiting its base was like going to a picnic.
Smiling.
PETER (Cont'd): I thought of finding a hermit Kungfu master there so that I might pick up some invincible martial arts from him.
.
Recalling.
PETER (Cont'd): Chinese Kungfu fiction and black-and-white movies were popular then.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Other than that, I didn't think of visiting the Nipple Mountain's slope, ridge or peak.
Recalling.
PETER (Cont'd): But in the 1970s, I heard that a heinous act was done there by a young person. He and his famiy lived not far away from our village home.
Son listens attentively.
PETER (Cont'd): His peers related that he had boasted before them that he had killed a girl and buried the body somewhere in the Nipple Mountain.
SON: And so?
PETER (Cont'd): From what I overheard and observed in the village, the Police got intelligence and the juvenile delinquents tried to evade arrests.
SON: What happened next?
PETER: Then, he disappeared.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Earlier, grandpa and grandma saw him climbing into our garden to steal my kites. Then, the villagers knew that I had beautiful kites for sale.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Heeding their worries of repeats, I stopped ordering beautiful kites from Kowloon and ended my sideline business.
SON: How about the young person's family?
PETER: They became more private than ever. Soon, they moved out of the village.
SON: What was that young person's demise?
PETER: As a juvenile delinquent, even if he was convicted of manslaughter, he would only be detained in a certain place under certain conditions.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Crime is a social problem.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Our little village wasn't short of juvenile delinquents. I didn't know why I hadn't become one of them.
Act 3
INT. CHA CHAAN TENG - CONTINUOUS
Peter looks enlightened.
PETER (Cont'd): I think it has to do with my DNAs.
Pausing.
PETER(Cont'd): You know late grandpa had, and grandma has, low level of impulsivity.
Son nods.
PETER (Cont'd): The same for my late grandpa and grandma too.
Pausing.
PETER(Cont'd): Looking backwards, I believe our traits have been encoded to be good.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): We must take action to thank our ancestors.
Peter has made up his mind.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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