The Window
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- May 27, 2021
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - MORNING
Phone in hand, Peter checks a link.
PETER (V.O.): An age test to find out how old I really am?
Tapping his phone screen a few times, Peter sees a resulting image: Your real age:33. Big Kid.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is that right?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was 33 in 1987. I got my second LLM and resumed my work at the Attorney General's Chambers as a Crown Counsel.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sharon and I have lived in our Hong Kong home for 2 years.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On Saturdays and Sundays, we'd stay in our NT home that we bought in 1983.
Act 2
INT. NT HOME - AFTERNOON
Taking the stairs, Peter looks up at the window at the top of the staircase on 2/F.
PETER (V.O.): When was the last time I opened it?
FLASHBACK
INT. NT HOME - DAY (1983)
Brand new but unfurnished. Peter (29) and SHARON (28) are inspecting the house in the presence of a uniformed STAFF.
PETER: Today is sunny and hot.
They open the windows of each floor.
PETER: Without any partition, the horizontal ventilation is good. But once we've partitioned the 1/F into a master bedroom, a study and a music room, we'll need air-conditioning, even though there's a penthouse on 2/F.
SHARON: Yes.
Taking the stairs, Peter notices a window at the top of the staircase on 2/F.
PETER: Ah, the window would allow vertical ventilation.
Walking out from the penthouse to the terrace, Peter opens the window.
PETER (Cont'd): Wow, the warm air kept inside the house has now found its way out.
SHARON: Yes, the interior condition has immediately become better.
PETER: As the costs for doing external and internal fixtures and fittings are already a huge financial burden for us, we might postpone the installation of air-conditioners.
Sharon has no comment.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But it wasn't good for a fully-furnished premises without any air-conditioners. So I made use of my credit card facilities and bought four sets just months later.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And once we had air-conditioning, we wouldn't open any windows.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was a pleasant surprise that after so many years, the air-conditioners on the G/F and 2/F are still working. But the ones on 1/F have been replaced many times.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now, I want to try simple living here.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I can cope without air-conditioning here on a hot day like today, I'd be good.
Walking out from the penthouse to the terrace, Peter opens the window.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Something's missing...
Checking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The window's inset screen is gone. I've forgotten about that. That's also the reason why the window is shut all the time.
Peter checks the screen frame.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now's the time for me to fix it!
Act 3
SEQUENCE OF PETER'S FIXING OF THE WINDOW SCREEN
A. Peter buys the aluminium mesh in a household store.
B. Sitting on the green grass at the front garden, Peter removes the old spline and the remains of the old screen.
C. Aligning the mesh over grooves, Peter pushes the mesh into the channels with a screwdriver.
D. After trimming the excess, Peter takes the window screen up to the 2/F and re-fixes it in the window.
END SEQUENCE
INT. STUDY - NIGHT
The air conditioner is on. Peter is checking a phone image of the window.
PETER (V.O.): What's good in opening the window can only be felt.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The same for opening one's mind.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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