The Burden
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Jun 23, 2021
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - MORNING
Touching his upper left arm, PETER looks pleased.
PETER (V.O.): I don't feel any pain at the injection site. I slept well last night too.
Looking out the window, Peter sees the gloomy weather.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I feel burdened.
Peter researches with his phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've been assigned to represent a person who has been remanded in gaol custody.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'll be seeing my client tomorrow morning before the court's sentencing.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My client's liberty is at stake. I'll do what is required.
Act 2
INT. STUDY - LATE MORNING
After interviewing SOMEONE via Zoom, Peter is in thoughts.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's quite a burden to be interviewed.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Not long after I turned 60, I made the right decision not to be interviewed again.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):Engaging with smart people can be mutually intellectually satisfying...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):But my voluntary work has consumed my time. Whatever that's scarce is valuable.
INT/EXT. BLOCK - ESTATE MALL - AFTERNOON
Lobby. Peter exchanges greetings with a female ESTATE CARETAKER (20s).
PETER (V.O.): When I was working in the Housing Management sector in the 1970s, I didn't come across any woman caretaker, not to mention young ones.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was 19, I applied for the job of estate caretaker. I wanted to learn from the interviewers about the practical matters that had to be managed.
Peter is walking towards the estate mall.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Weeks later, when I was interviewed for the job of Housing Assistant, I did well and got the better job.
Smiling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was quite smart.
Peter enters the mall.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, my block's night-shift male estate caretaker has been absent for over a fortnight now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've heard residents enquiring with his workmates about him.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): His performance has been very good. My wife has found out that he had an operation.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He looked fine all along. But I don't know how hard it was for him to work night shifts for years.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1976, I worked for one night shift in the headquarters of the Housing Authority, when a typhoon was approaching.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Hong Kong had a series of serious and tragic landslides in 1972.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was charged with the responsibility to watch for the latest weather information and to alert other officers if I sensed there's an emergency.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was quite a burden even for a one-night shift.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I wish him luck. He's probably a few years junior to me in age.
Peter gets inside a restaurant.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - LATE AFTERNOON
Peter checks email notifications.
PETER (V.O.): The arbitration secretariat has come back to me.
Quickly, Peter works on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Issuing my domain name decision formally is another burden I want to lay down today.
Having laid down his burden, Peter get the balcony window to check the estate swimming pool down under.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's closed. I just want to lay down my residual burden there.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Soon after getting my 1st jab, I walked past a building and saw it laying down its burden in a carefree way.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We all have to act responsibly - to others and ourselves.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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