Timeless Treasures
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Oct 2, 2021
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
PETER and his WIFE are chatting.
WIFE: Do you know anything about Korean funeral arrangements?
PETER: No. Let me research.
WIFE: No need. I'm sending you a link. Korean funerals take place over three days.
As Peter reads the materials on his phone screen, Peter's wife sends him an image.
PETER: Oh, it's from us to the late Mr IN.
WIFE: I read that the Korean funeral atmosphere isn't that gloomy when compared with other cultures.
PETER: Is that right?
WIFE: Even distant relatives who haven't seen the deceased before would attend the funeral service to show support to the surviving ones.
PETER: That's a very good tradition.
Act 2
INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Peter is studying a link with images.
PETER (V.O.): I can tell three other differences between Korean funeral services and Hong Kong ones.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): First, the mourners, whether men or women, dress in black. Second, funeral visitors bow 2 times to respect the deceased and 3 times to the mourners. And third, funeral visitors play games with the mourners.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Playing games in Hong Kong funeral services is inconceivable. The Korean practice is to help mourners face their bereavement.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):I love this Korean way.
Reaching out his other mobile, Peter sees an video game advert appearing on the screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a game in which players build up Chinese idioms on the electronic board from small-lettered tiles.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've forgotten many Chinese words as I don't have to write them, not to mention the use of Chinese idioms.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One of the things that I haven't done in my life is to play video games. This one can be a bit intellectual.
Having tapped Install, Peter begins to play the video game.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, I can play. I learned most of the Chinese idioms while I was very young...
FLASHBACK
INT. POK OI HOSPITAL - DAY (1962)
Having been admitted into a ward, Peter (8) is welcomed by other children PATIENTS.
PATIENT#1: What illness have you got?
PETER: Yesterday afternoon, I played bouncing on the sofa and fell on the ground head first. Last night, I had a high fever. And you?
PATIENT#2: I've kidney disease. I've been living here for quite a while.
PETER (V.O.): Can children get very sick?
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although I enjoyed staying there, I was discharged the next day.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Later, while visiting my Mum's parents, I learned that a young "auntie" (just 1-2 year older than me) was suffering from kidney disease.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That was the last time I saw her.
Peter sighs.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife and I met the late Mr IN via Skype less than a fortnight ago.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When life still gave us the opportunity to check off an event on our bucket list, we checked them.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We did make memories that could last forever.
Sighing.
Act 3
INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT
Having done Skype with the CHILDREN, Peter is in thoughts.
PETER (V.O.): The more we love someone, the harder it is to lose.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): Although our encounter with Mr IN was brief, our shared memories are timeless treasures of the heart.
Reflecting.
YPETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.
Peter plays the video games again.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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