What We Don't Say
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Dec 7, 2025
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 7:30
Soft gray dawn light filters through curtains. Quiet order. PETER sits in a chair, a cup of untouched tea steaming on the side table. Holding his smartphone, he strolls through his Gallary.
PETER (V.O.): I've taken many wedding photos last Sunday. Lots of right things were said and done that day.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On Monday, our younger daughter shared the news that she got an offer from a Tokyo studio. We were all so very happy as she could pursue her passion for real.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife and I drove her to the airport on Tuesday morning, followed by my son-in-law and his mother the next day.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And later this morning, our elder daughter...
Act 2
EXT. ROADS TO AIRPORT - 12:00
The midday sun casts a warm golden hue over the car's sunroof. Peter is driving. Beside him, his WIFE. Their elder DAUGHTER sits in the middle seat. A big luggage at the rear.
PETER: How long have you been back home?
DAUGHTER: Exactly three weeks. I worked remotely and managed my wedding schedule...
WIFE: I can't believe everything has gone so smoothly.
PETER: It feels like you've been here for days only.
DAUGHTER: I'm switching back to my Korean SIM card...
EXT. HONG KONG AIRPORT - 12:15
Terminal 1. Peter drops off their daughter.
DAUGHTER: I should go.
An awkward beat. Peter steps forward. They've a firm, one-arm hug.
PETER: Good girl.
At the driver seat, Peter watches her daughter walking alongside his wife toward the departure hall.
PETER (V.O.): We've no plan for when we'll see each other again.
Peter tries to capture a photo of the daughter amid nearby people and obstructions.
PETER (V.O.): Love is often a verb performed in the passive voice.
EXT. ROADS TO TOWN - 13:00
Peter drives. The car is quiet.
WIFE: Although we don't have any plans to see our daughter in Seoul right now, we can go whenever we want.
PETER: True.
Pausing
PETER (Cont'd): I've been thinking about having another doctor in the family.
WIFE: I know.
PETER: May be another wedding dinner to plan.
WIFE: Err...Having done our elder daughter's wedding schedule, I began considering other arrangements and realised something...
Peter listens very attentively.
PETER: Oh dear...
WIFE: Tough luck.
Peter nods slowly.
PETER: It now seems that it'd have to be postponed by a year.
PETER (V.O.): We don't say anything.
The car continues to move forward.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Maturity is knowing that some truths are like surgical instruments, are necessary, but shouldn't be shared openly.
INT. LIVING ROOM - 16:30
Peter sits at the piano.
PETER (V.O.): Stillness can be an act of listening. Silence can be an act of holding.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm still processing the shock. The delay isn't the desired outcome but I accept it.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 21:30
Peter uploads a photo of her elder daughter pushing a black lugguage, facing away from a pole to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): Some stories need to be lived before they can be told. Our job is to wait at the door, not to knock. Wisdom is in knowing what not to say, and for how long.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We build a home from the things we celebrate aloud and the disappointments we absorb in quiet communion.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What we don't say can be an act of respect, restraint, protection, and profound understanding.
END
FADE OUT
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