FADE IN
Act 1
INT. DINING ROOM - 21:00
PETER, his WIFE and KAJI take their seats at the dinning table.
.
PETER: Do you think you can fix it?
Peter is referring to a broken wire of a pedal switch by his side.
WIFE: Let's have dinner first.
PETER: Sure!
PETER (V.O.): Having come home from work, she has prepared the dinner for both of us.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She prefers to do the cooking herself rather than leaving it to our domestic helper.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She sets her standards high and won't settle for less.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. HONG KONG MUSEUM OF HISTORY - 12:30
Entertainment section. Peter is watching film extracts shown on a screen.
PETER (V.O.): I've watched the Hong Kong films and the TV dramas in the 1970s.
Peter sees snapshots of a female actress on screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We're classmates in a secondary school. In Form 3, we either sat in the same column or in the same row.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1971, we could have become matriculation classmates again ... But she chose to work.
War section. We hear:...people in Hong Kong were encouraged to learn Japanese...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Without any encouragement, my elder daughter can speak Japanese like a native.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Among my children, she was the only one who read her undergraduate degree in Hong Kong.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And so far, she's the only one of my family who has worked in Tokyo.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And now, she's studying Korean in Seoul National University.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the term exam, she scored 99.7/100 and won a scholarship.
An inhabitants' section. In front of a Poon Choi exhibit, Peter is watching a video clip on screen on New Territories.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I first had such a folk dish in 1971 when my sister was married to the only son of a village representative.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My sister gave birth to four daughters before she had a son to sustain the male line of the family.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Her big and loving family has been expanding.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Incidentally, her English and Chinese calligraphy is distinctly aesthetic.
Seeing a cheongsam exhibit, Peter captures a photo of it.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In black and white photos, I saw my Mom wearing it. In the 1960s, an Auntie wore cheongsam all the time.
Seeing a kerosene stove exhibit, Peter is in thoughts.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the 1960s, my family only had wood stoves. My grandma chopped the firewood. I also did it, for fun.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When grandma taught me how to start a fire, smoke got into our eyes.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She insisted to cook for the family when she was terminally ill...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She's great! She'd move heaven and earth for the family.
RETURN TO PRESENT
Act 3
INT. DINING ROOM - LATER
Appearing, Peter sees the wire of his pedal switch has been connected with tin soldering.
PETER (V.O.): Women can be a wonderful wife, an Outstanding friend, a Marvelous daughter, an Adorable sister and a Nurturing grandma.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): With strength, intelligence, grace and nerve not to take "No" as an answer, women may dominate in the men's world.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Where there's woman, there's magic. Happy International Women's Day!
FADE OUT
THE END
top of page
Search
Recent Posts
See Allbottom of page
Comments