Swimming With Cramps
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 7 hours ago
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 05:47
A silver grey light cuts through the curtain. PETER's eyes open. He's instantly awake. He glances at the clock radio. He turns his head to the other side.
PETER (V.O.): I can't will myself back to sleep.
His jaw is tight.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My mind is a whirring engine.
He throws the duvert off, sits up.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My day has begun.
MONTAGE
A. Peter sits in a sofa, taps the Duolingo app on his phone and does lessons in Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Korean.
B. Peter sits at a desk and opens his laptop. The screen is a cascade of emails with attachments dense with text. He scrolls methodically, absorbing.
END MONTAGE
Act 2
NT. COURT LIBRARY, QUEENSWAY - 10:50
Peter sits alone at a table, reading a white book.
PETER (V.O.): No case law on this technical rule. Confirmed.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To prove the negative is hard. Let me advise my instructing solicitor.
Peter types on his phone and sends a message.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me prepare my legal arguments.
Later, the afternoon sun slants in. Peter finishes researching and typing. He checks the time.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's already 14:15.
He leans back in his chair, a wave of exhaustion washing over him.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's time to treat myself to lunch, and then I'll withdraw some Euros as a gift for my visiting elder daughter.
MONTAGE
A. Tim Ho Wan, IFC. Peter sits at a small table, a plate of fried noodles with prawns in front of him.
B. Standard Chartered, Exchange Square. Peter pats the breast pocket of his shirt, feeling the reassuring thickness of an envelope.
END MONTAGE
INT. SUN YAT SEN MEMORIAL PARK SWIMMING POOL - 16:45
Half through the lap, Peter slows down.
PETER (V.O.): I begin to feel a cramp in my left calf.
As he finishes the lap, he turns.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Suddenly, my right foot and toes seize up with cramps.
Later, he slows down again.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And this time it's my right thigh that tightens painfully.
Pausing at the wall.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Fortunately, I'm not swimming in the sea.
INT. MTR TRAIN - 17:45
Peter sits in a priority seat. He checks a phone message.
PETER (V.O.): It's from a close relative.
He begins to type a reply. He corrects a typo. He scrolls back up to re-read a point. He types some more and sends the message. Then, he sends more.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My only fuel is a relentless sense of duty.
Peter looks up at his reflection in the dark window opposite him.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I see a tired old man.
He closes his eyes just for a moment as the train rattles on.
INT. BEDROOM - 19:00
Peter lies on top of the bed, still in his clothes from the day. He holds a phone above his face. He scrolls. Then scolls again. Then again.
PETER (V.O.): For the first time all day, my mind isn't working. Not strategizing, not executing, Just...floating.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But today is just the beginning of more work, more stress.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 22:30
Peter uploads a photo of a stone monument with Chinese characters, surrounded by greenery, with the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park swimming pool visible in the background to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): The young swim to be seen. The old swim to feel the water hold them one more day. Swimming with cramps is just gratitude with sore knees.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The cramps are the body's way of keeping score. The spirit doesn't keep score. It just keeps going.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Today, I didn't swim well. I swam anyway. That's the diffenence between swimming with cramps and not swimming at all.
The END
FADE OUT
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