A Quiet Life in a Small Courtyard

At twenty-eight, Xing Fan was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer and decided to stop treatment. An orphan since childhood, she could understand animals and had spent most of her life alone. She moved into a small house on the outskirts of town and gradually took in several stray cats. Their companionship brought warmth to her lonely life. In spring, she found homes for some of the cats. Then, on a sunny afternoon, she sat peacefully in a rocking chair with an orange tabby beside her and passed away.