This essay examines how collective memory of the singer Anita Mui unfolds across cultural productions in post-2019 Hong Kong. It begins with an analysis of memorial narratives associated with the 2021 biographical movie Anita, then examines a 2023 public debate about urban planning for museums, including the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, which at the time hosted an exhibition about the singer. Tracing the online circulation of memory narratives, the essay introduces the concept of ‘temporal fugitives’ to describe those who strategically withdraw from a politically turbulent present by retreating into a reconstructed past to seek solace.