The Last Midnight Supper
By A HongKonger Abroad
72% cocoa content — printed on the package of the chocolate.
A puff of steam was gushing out from the kettle. 3:30 am. She poured the boiling water over a lump of coffee powder and immediately, melting the pile into a dark, over-flowing lava. Before settling on instant coffee powder, she had considered brewing her ground coffee in a Moka Pot for an aromatic night.
She took a sip and broke the chocolate bar into smaller chunks.
That will do the job. I just need caffeine to complete the assignment by Thursday.
The night was never dull. From the window, she heard snippets of conversations between worried souls blending into the rapid footsteps of home-goers which were carefully choreographed to the rhythmic counting down of the ticking sound from the pedestrian light. Green (ready), amber (set) —
A red minibus dashed past the corner with the speed detector inside broadcasting a siren which was too obvious to ignore but too dangerous to address.
Much like the situation we face here.
A passenger alighted at a newspaper stand. She watched the passenger paid for a freshly printed copy of the latest Apple Daily — the last surviving printed newspaper in Hong Kong that dared to voice for democracy. But with the looming fear of a change of law and the government’s intervention, there was a rumour that the 26-year-old newspaper would be forced to cease operation on Friday.
A premature death.
By the time she lowered her laptop lid, the sun began to rise. She breathed in slowly.Worried souls had left the stage in exchange for people in suits, heels and briefcases — all ready to function for the prosperity of Hong Kong. She breathed out slowly.
With an empty sandwich box lying next to her laptop, she brought the coffee-stained mug to the kitchen sink and headed to the bathroom.
We’ll see.
www.hongkongwatch.org
hongkongfp.com
“Since Frank Baker was a peace activist, I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss what keeps a lot pro-democracy HongKongers up at night these days. The story is an imagined scenario of an Apple Daily's journalist writing for the last publication on Friday, June 25th 2021.”
