Send Before Midnight
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
Act 1
INT. MALL - 09:15
Fairwood. While waiting for his takeaway breakfast, PETER scrolls through the web on his phone.
PETER (V.O.): Today is first day of the Year of the Horse. I don't know if the swimming pools would be open.
Peter reads a notice on screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Three days. All pools closed.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although it's quite cool today, I can go to the beaches.
Peter scrolls through the web on his phone again.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No lifeguards at beaches for three days.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Three days. No swim.
Peter grabs his takeway breakfast from a counter.
Act 2
INT. LIVING ROOM - 10:30
Peter checks his messages, mostly filled with New Year greetings accompanied by impersonal photo and video clips.
PETER (V.O.): The messages lack personal touches.
Peter types on screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me prompt an AI image generator to create one.
Soon, we see a festive illustration featuring a white horse as the central figure, set against a celebratory Chinese New Year backdrop.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I want my name Peter to appear on the saddle cloth.
Soon, Peter gets what he wants.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To everyone who sent a horse or horses- here is mine, with my name on it.
He sends it to his friends on WhatsApp and WeChat.
INT. FU KWAI HOUSE - 21:30
Poon Chai served. Conversation hums. Peter recalls something.
PETER (V.O.): Has Ross sent me his Chinese New Year greetings?
Peter discreetly pulls out his phone, scrolls incoming emails.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He has been doing that since 2001, not because the news is new, but because the knowing must be renewed.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): An annual email isn't a poor substitute for presence - it's presence, distilled and delivered.
Checking.
PETER (V.O.): Oh yes, Ross has already sent me his annual email, at 12.15 while I was practising jazz piano.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Family holidays. Talia's knee. E-type's transmission...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The distance between continents is measured not in kilometers, but in the hours we wait to hear that someone is still there.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I think I should draft a reply now.
.
Typing on screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Ross wants to know I'm all right.
He looks up at his family - WIFE, SONS, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW. He returns to typing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We send updates because silence is too easily mistaken for disappearance.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Several years ago, a former HKS classmate reached out to me via email, sharing that he was once again battling cancer.
Peter takes a deep breath.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That was the last I ever heard from him.
Peter edits his draft.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One day, the mail won't come. That's why I read every one like it might be the last.
Peter clicks "SEND".
Act 3
EXT. PETER'S CAR - 11:45
Peter's younger SON drives. His wife is in the passenger seat. Peter sits in the middle row with Kaji, the family pet.
PETER (V.O.): The difference between thinking of someone and telling someone is exactly the time it takes to press "SEND".
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We send yearly updates because we're not sure how many years are left to send.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Year of the Horse began with three days without swimming. But it also began with an email sent before midnight. The horse runs. The friend knows. The day ends well.
The END
FADE OUT
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