Sandcastle

---

Hian

Remember the play we wrote together?

About the man who spent his life

searching for that kingdom under the sea?

That Utopia he was so sure

he could bring his people to?

Do you still think that world exists?

If he were to give up the search now

would it mean that he had lived for nothing?

To light up this beautiful city

And share it with the world

Guided only by this river of life

Together we will live our dreams.

My home

is where I keep my joy and sorrow

With hope, our dreams will soar.

My home, has given me

a pair of wings.

No matter where I am

I will always have my home.

En, are you ready?

Yeah, wait. I'm changing.

En?

En?

Wait!

Why did you lock the door?

En?

I said wait! I am changing!

Why did you lock the door?

I was changing.

But you were alone at home!

I'm just used to locking it.

Are you bringing all of this?

No, we can leave those in the store room.

Don't forget to take the curtains down.

Use them to cover the furniture in the living room.

It's going to get dusty

when they start the drilling.

And the lamp too, thanks.

Next to the mirror please.

Are you ready to go?

Yeah.

For the next two weeks

don't give Grandpa too much trouble.

Grandma's condition is worsening.

This cat came all the way from Malaysia!

You've come a long way, haven't you?

Anything else in the car?

No, this is all.

That must be heavy

let me help you with that.

It's fine, don't worry about it.

Pa, I found this in Ers room.

Don't know who it's from.

You can work on it with Ma.

The puzzle of the kittens is short of one piece.

Pass me the box

I can have it exchanged.

Who is this artist?

Who's this Van Gogh?

Do you see it?

No.

Oh, here it is.

Where should I plug this?

Dial-up is really slow.

It's just for two weeks.

Watch your attitude.

It was you who didn't want to come with us to

China.

Okay?

These telephones should still be working.

He can use them.

He doesn't need a telephone.

The cable is for his computer

En, do you need a telephone?

No need, Grandpa.

How strange.

Using a phone cable for a computer.

This house will be very messy during the

renovation.

How much does it cost?

About $3000.

It's mainly for Ers bedroom.

Furniture and paint job.

And the kitchen cabinets too.

En, come and have dinner.

Shouldrt he be in the army yet?

He's enlisting later this year.

He's grown so much.

Is he the rooster or the rat?

He's the rooster.

Leng's boy was born in the Year of the Rat.

So he's the one born premature?

Yes, by C-section.

He must be 18 this year.

Grandpa's asking how old you are.

Oh, it's time to get your driver's license.

Did you get the number for the driving school?

I didn't pass by Eunos.

Is Grandma sleeping?

I think she is.

Grandpa

Can you take me to Malaysia this Sunday?

Didrt I say I'll take you when I'm back?

But the Tomb Sweeping Festival ends on

Monday.

I went last week

but I don't mind going again.

It's okay, Pa.

I'll take him when I return from my trip.

Go tell Grandma it's dinnertime.

Go on!

I really don't mind taking him there.

I'll bring him there when I come back.

This is the physiotherapy room.

This is where we hold our daily morning exercise.

Sometimes we have volunteers from associations

or schools who would come and perform.

Let me show you our other room.

This is our other physiotherapy room.

The ward on the other side is for male residents.

There's another male ward on the fourth floor.

The female wards are on the third and fifth floors.

Do you have mixed wards?

For married couples

we usually recommend private rooms.

But these requests are quite rare

and the rooms are currently not available.

We have a lovely view here.

It looks even better on the fifth floor.

Do you know how to use the camera?

Come, come to Grandpa.

Do you know how?

I do!

What a clever boy.

When was this taken?

What a clever boy.

About 10 years ago.

Luckily I digitised the tape into my computer

before it got mouldy.

En, are you having fun?

I am!

Shall we go to Malaysia on Sunday?

Okay.

Yeah?

There's no electricity.

Where's Grandpa?

There's no electricity.

Grandpa!

Boon, you're back?

Grandma, I am En.

Grandpa!

Coming!

Boon, when did you come back?

Grandma, I am En. Not Boon.

Here, let me do it.

There's no electricity.

It must have tripped again.

I'll fix it in a while.

Boon, when did you come back?

He is not Boon, he's En.

Not Boon?

He is Boors son.

Boon has gone back to Malaysia.

What is he doing back in Malaysia?

He's always preferred it there.

Grandma, we'll visit him this Sunday, okay?

Have they allowed him to come back?

You young people are so tech-savvy.

I need you to help me preserve some of these.

Do you still have that bolster?

I think Mother threw it away.

Did Father take these?

Those were taken by me.

That's the photo your father chose for his

tombstone.

Wasrt he vain?

Dying at 50 but insisting

on being remembered as a 20-year-old.

Boon?

Did Father write this?

Do you know how to read it?

No, it's written in Traditional Chinese.

What's this?

Have you heard of

the Chinese school student protests of 1956?

Yeah.

Your father was part of it.

Really? So he took these photos?

Those were taken by me.

Were you also a reporter?

That was before I started the bridal photo studio.

These were taken by your father.

These photos were taken in 1961. He was a

student leader by that time.

He was?

At that time the schools were switching from

the Chinese system to the English system.

The Secondary 4 students then decided to

boycott the exams.

Don't you have these negatives in prints?

They were destroyed in the 60's

when the political situation got too sensitive.

But I managed to keep some of the negatives.

Mother has mentioned before

that Father was brainwashed

to do some anti-government things.

But I had no idea he was a student leader.

"Brainwash"?

They like to use that word a lot.

How do you actually "brainwash"?

What the students had back then were

convictions and beliefs.

All they wanted was for Malaya to be

independent from the British.

Back then it was so easy to be labeled a

Communist.

Sorry, Grandpa.

Hello?

No I can't. I'm working later.

Grandpa

Where's the mirror in the bathroom?

I removed it.

There's one in the studio's bathroom.

I made some dinner for you.

You can have it for supper when you get back.

Don't stay out too late.

We should leave early tomorrow

or there will be a traffic jam on the Causeway.

Okay. Bye, Grandpa.

Are you tired?

Want to go to bed now?

Let's continue tomorrow.

I'll be watering the plants.

I'll come to bed after that.

Grandpa

Was there a power trip?

Grandpa?

Grandma? What's wrong?

Grandma?

Did Grandpa fall asleep?

Grandpa?

This is my son, Xiang En.

He is so big now.

He looks a lot like Boon, doesn't he?

They're saying you look a lot like Father.

Many people say that.

You don't have to go.

We'll do our own prayers later.

Grandma?

Grandma?

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