The Swing, the Storm and the Strepsils
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 21:00
A packet of Strepsils near him. PETER coughs. It's deep.
PETER (V.O.): Three days.
He pops one Strepsils. He crunches it loudly.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Don't know when my coughing will go away.
He grabs his smartphone and checks a photo of him in light grey Tang Dynasty robe.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I borrowed it from the Perch Lake Hotel and wore it to dinner on the second day of my June trip.
He coughs again.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My tablemates remarked that I looked great. I came up with the idea as I didn't want to keep wearing my wet clothes.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And after that dinner, I had my first cough.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
EXT. FENG LIN XIAO ZHEN - 14:49 (17 June 2026)
A vast lotus pond. Peter walks along a path. He stops, staring at a lotus blossom.
PETER (V.O.): Wow, it's the size of a dinner plate.
Gazing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I have seen lotus flowers in Hong Kong. Petite things.
He grins, pulling out his phone to take a photo.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Seeing the lotus blossom is one of the highlights of the packaged tour.
Then he spots a set of elegantly docorated swings by the pond.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I must sit on it.
He pumps his legs back and forth.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Quite the same.
Swinging.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I feel I was about 10 years old again.
Swinging.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I always remember the time when my Dad made a swing for me and my sibliings when we're living in Tin Sum.
Peter waves at the tour guide YAN.
PETER: Please take a photo for me.
PETER (V.O.): I seldom do that. This is an exception.
Later, Peter arrives at the toy train terminal at the far end. The train is just pulling away. PASSENGERS have their legs sticking out comically.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, just Eugine and his wife on the train. I missed it and have to wait for the next train.
EUGENE'S WIFE (over the train's chugging): Peter, please take a photo for us.
Peter captures the moments as the tiny strain chugs off into the lotus fields.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They're my eating tablemates.
Peter and other TOURISTS wait. Later, the train returns. He sits on the tiny bench at the back, his legs sticking out at an awkward angle. He grins.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Adults sit like school children. That's the thing. Everyone is having fun.
As the fully loaded train chugs off the station, the sky darkens instantly.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): OMG, the storm is coming, not in drops but in sheets - a downpour.
Like THOSE in front of him, Peter opens the umbrella. But the rain is horizontal.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a wall of water. The umbrella isn't a shield against a monsoon. Water pours from my clothes.
The train arrives at the terminal near the entrance. Everyone is soaked to the bone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I think it's okay for me. I swim everyday. This is just...another shower.
Later, the storm stops. The train service resumes. Peter continues his sightseeeing and sees WINNIE and her HUSBAND, the only passengers arriving in the third train. Winnie waves at Peter with a huge grin.
WINNIE: Peter, please take a photo for us.
Peter captures the moment swiftly.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Talk about perfect timing. They, my other eating tablemates, have the whole thing to themselves.
RETURN TO PRESENT
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:30
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows a stormy lotus pond, filled with broad green leaves with scattered pink blooms and a swing in the background.
PETER (V.O.): I swung like a boy. I got caught in the storm like a fool. And now I take Strepsils every day.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The swing, the storm and the Strepsils. One swing. One drench. One crunch that never clears.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The swing was my Dad's hands. The storm was the sky's fist. The Strepsils are my teeth, chewing the truth I've always missed.
The END
FADE OUT
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