The Doubles
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- May 15, 2020
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - NIGHT
Background music. Peter is in bed, wearing an eye mask.
PETER (V.O.): So, I've turned 66. When I turned 65, I wrote a song to celebrate myself to become a senior citizen. Fate has allowed me to add another year to my life.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So, today, May 15, 2020 is another new day.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I shouldn't go to bed after midnight. But my daily routines are packed. There's so much I want to do each day.
Peter sleeps.
Act 2
EXT. ROAD - DAY
Passing place. Peter is waiting at the driver seat of a cyber-green New Beetle.
PETER (V.O.): When I first retired, I thought I could at least be my wife's chauffeur. And I've done more than that.
Checking his phone, Peter sees Facebook notifications.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Wow, so many happy birthday wishes. They make my day.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The groundwork of all happiness is health. I exercise regularly and have recently overdone it, having back pain for days.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the past few days when I took MTR, I wouldn't mind taking a priority seat. I observed that some people taking priority seats weren't the elderly.
Peter checks new notifications from Quora.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Many Quorans pose questions to me. I answer most of them, hoping that as a wise old man, I might open their empty minds.
Pausing.
After his WIFE has got inside the car, Peter drives off.
INT. STUDY - DAY
Relaxing on a sofa, Peter ponders.
PETER (V.O.): I'm now 66. What was I when I turned 11? Pythagoras thought 11 is the number of a cycle of new beginnings.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was 1965. I was in P.5. I liked to sing the song: The Wedding. I collected bus tickets with lucky numbers eg 1122.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is 22 the most powerful number of all numbers? As with all building, patience and hard work is required. What was I at 22?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was 1976. I had worked for two years as a Housing Assistant. I was about to take GCE exam in English. My relationship with my future wife Sharon became steady.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is 33 with the most amount of influential power?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was 1987. I had been married for 8 years and had been a Crown Counsel for a year. In May, I was finalizing my second LLM study at University College London on UK Foreign Office scholarship.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Did I focus on my tasks at 44?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was 1998. My wife Sharon had died for 6 years. Our son was 8-year old. I remarried and our elder daughter was 2-year old. In Geneva conferences, I quitted my seat with the UK delegation in 1997 and began to sit in the China delegation.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Did I further evolve myself at 55?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was 2009. I was still the Deputy Director of Intellectual Property. Our younger son was 11-year old and our younger daughter 9-year old.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): How about now at 66? Am I serving and loving unconditionally? I believe so.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The world is undergoing a pandemic. The percentage of my age group dying because of the coronavirus is 25%.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Will I have other doubles - 77, 88 or even 99?
Peter looks blank.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - DAY
Working behind his computer, Peter adds a Google photo to the text that he is typing.
PETER (V.O.): Yes, these photos depict what the mood 6 years ago. After a farewell party, fun begain in the streets of Central.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Six years ago, I began adapting to the change. Initially, it was hard, particularly when I didn't have my own websites and couldn't do much online publishing.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Gradually, I've developed my emotional resilience. I'm forever curious about matters and my creativity hits my soul too.
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - NIGHT
Background music. Peter goes to bed, picking up an eye mask.
PETER (V.O.): Having had a beginning 66 years ago, I haven't wasted my time.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My life goes on and I'm still enjoying every moment of it.
FADE OUT.
THE END

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