The 30-year Drift
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Oct 14
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 16:30
On the TV screen, the end credits of Initial D roll.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, I've finished watching the first season of the series, episode by episode.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I start watching the series after returning from my trips to Japan in Sept.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And soon, I found myself immersed in the characters and the drifting of Japanese sports cars from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At the time, it was very fashionable for coupes, including my 1989 red Nissan Silvia S13, to feature retractable headlights.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The other day, as I walked past a petrol station at Quarry Bay, I noticed a poster celebrating the 30th anniversary of Initial D.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. ESTATE CAR PARK - 15:45 (Sept 5, 2025)
Just as Peter parked his S13, a young CHAP hurried over to him.
PETER: Yes?
CHAP: A few weeks ago, your S13 was parked on the roadside in a low-rise estate. Later, you parked another silver coupe...and just then, I saw you driving it here...
PETER (V.O.): My S13 has been under his watchful eyes for weeks...
The chap is visibly excited, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
CHAP (Cont'd): I know this coupe. It's a good one. Unmolested. Rare. Can you tell me why you've been keeping it for so long?
PETER: Just like a loved one, I won't disown it...I mortgaged my apartment to buy it, which didn't seem like a sensible decision.
Their eyes are locked at the S13.
PETER(Cont'd): Althoujgh keeping it has been expensive, I've never considered selling it.
As the chap looks discouraged, Peter opens the driver's door and points at a button.
PETER (Cont'd): Feel free to touch it to activate the retractable headlights.
The chap presses the button, and the headlights spring up with a jolt.
PETER (V.O.): This is how I can help to curb his impulse.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I didn't get it until now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Initial D isn't just a story about drifting. It's a story about a machine the means something that one can't say with words.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The chap wasn't a stalker. He was a pilgrim. He saw the S13 as a symbol - a key to a world of adrenaline and asphalt.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To him, I wasn't just the owner, I was also a curator. A gatekeeper who refused to open the gate.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Keeping a car like that, and not testing its limits, not letting it scream through a mountain pass...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To me, it's a symbol of my success. I was promoted to the rank of Senior Crown Counsel in late 1988, I bought the S13 to reward myself.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): More importantly, Sharon, my late wife drove it, and our new-born son came home in it.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I didn't share the backstories with the chap as I thought he was too young to grasp them.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I know I'm not merely preserving my coupe; I'm currating a personal museum of memories and unfinished dreams.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't notice any 30-year drift in the rear mirror, I only feel it when I finally try to turn the wheel of the drifting video game machine in Japan.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I spent 30 years drifting from the man I was, only to find the boy I left behind was still waiting in the driver's seat.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 19 :15
Peter uploads an image, depicting his WIFE playing Inital D in the driving cockpit of the a video game machine to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): The 30-year drift: the haunting distance between who I'm and who I was when I still believed in the impossible.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Some drifts are measured in seconds of adrenaline. Others are measured in decades of quiet wondering.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To correct a 30-year drift, I don't need a sharp turn. I just need to remember my original destination.
FADE OUT
END
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