Yang didn’t speak much, but he could always express his feelings to his pet, Rain. About the size of a small cat, Rain was a slinky, stinky bamboo rat that he kept in a box in the corner of his crumbling country house. He would scoop Rain up in his arms and cradle him like a baby when no one was looking. The animal would squirm and quickly break free, never failing to make Yang laugh.

Bamboo rats were easily found in his mountainous village and Yang had kept them as pets since he was a child. He would rescue them from his older cousin Long Arms who enjoyed trapping and taunting them. “Stupid ugly animals. Pig face with a rabbit body!” he would say, poking the animals with whatever stick was closest. Defending the helpless creatures made Yang feel heroic. The first time he decided to take one home he was seven years old and there had been a big storm. He wrapped the frightened animal in his torn shirt for protection. The name ‘Rain’ seemed fitting.

• Tags: China, fiction, Issue 31, Katrina Yu