The Housing Assistant and the Director
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Mar 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 15
Act 1
EXT. RIVERSIDE PARK - 18:30
The sky is a soft wash of orange and purple. PETER watches his turtle move with careful determination, each step taken with immense deliberation.
PETER (V.O.): He's 17 years old.
Peter's WIFE holds a leach attached to KAJI, a Shiba Inu.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She's nine.
Peter hears through his closed-back headphones that an architect known for his contributions to public housing in Hong Kong has died.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, that's Donald Liao, at the remarkable age of 96...impressive.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I wonder what he saw, in those last years
Peter keeps a watchful eye on his turtle, ensuring it doesn't wander into harm's way.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From1974 to 1980, I served as a Housing Assistand while Donald held the position of Director of Housing.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. RESTAURANT, MONGKOK - 13:00 (2006)
Peter (52) sits with DONALD (76) having lunch together.
PETER: I'm really pleased that I had the opportunity to work with you this morning on the joint JP visit.
Donald nods.
PETER (Cont'd): In the 1970s, I worked in the Housing Dept.
Donald looks curious.
DONALD: Were you an architect?
PETER: No, I was just a Housing Assistant, collecting rents on Kwai Shing and Lai King estates, and controlling squatters in the Yuen Long district.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Later, I also attended the part-time Housing Management course at HKU and became a Member of the Institute of Housing.
Peter carefully pours tea for Donald before filling one for himself.
PETER (Cont'd): The fortunate turn of events was my first exposure to law in the housing management studies.
Pausing.
PETER(Cont'd): Subsequently, I applied for and received a Govt legal training scholarship to study law at HKU, ultimately qualified as a barrister.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): I was Senior Crown Counsel in the Attorney General's Chambers. and I'm now the Deputy Director of Intellectual Property.
Donald nods.
PETER (Cont'd): And my children are students at your wife's ballet school!
Donald smiles widely.
PETER (Cont'd): You designed and built decent public housing estates for a million people...
DONALD: Yes, but they may not understand why that block is placed over there...
PETER: They live in it. They feel it.
DONALD: Yes. But the ones who come after me...I had so much I wanted to pass on.
PETER: No one ever came to ask?
DONALD: No one ever consulted the old man.
His eyes hold a deep, old sorrow.
PETER (Cont'd):I feel the weight of it.
Lunch is winding down.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): When I get to your age, I may realize the only thing that matters is whether anyone will remember why I did it,
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): That was my first and last face-to-face encounter with Donald.
Peter is back on the path. He looks at the turtle, moving with steady purpose.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I think of Donald's lament.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Housing Assistant worried about his next promotion. The Director worried about his legacy.
Peter joins his wife.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The man in between - retired, walking the dog and the turtle - worries about whether there was any difference.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 22:30
Peter uploads a photo of a stack of three housing magazines 2000, featuring articles and images related to housing and architecture to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): The Housing Director becomes a memory. The memory becomes a news report.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I spent years moving from physical homes to intellectual property. At the end, I understand: all property is intellectual. Someone had to think of it first.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Housing Assistant and the Director aren't two men. They're the same person, separated by time. As they reflect on their life, a question lingers: What would it be like to live into their 90s?
The END
FADE OUT
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