Fallen Leaves and a Dog Beneath the Wicker Chair

A local dog named Ahuang is adopted from beside a trash can by Lao Li, an elderly man who lives alone. From then on, they become each other's light. With his rough hands, Lao Li builds Ahuang a warm den and gives him the thickest part of his rice porridge. Ahuang, in turn, stays loyally by Lao Li through his lonely years, listening as he murmurs to old photographs and nuzzling his palm when he coughs.

Together, they watch willow catkins drift beside the moat, share a slice of sweet watermelon on summer nights, and huddle together for warmth in the autumn rain. As Lao Li's health declines, his cough becomes an ever-present sound in the house. Ahuang doesn't understand what "parting" means. He only knows he must stay closer to his master.

The day the ambulance takes Lao Li away, Ahuang scratches at the window and howls. From then on, he waits day after day in the empty house. He keeps watch over Lao Li's rattan chair and the lingering smell of tobacco, carrying fallen leaves beneath the chair and chasing in his dreams the figure that used to call him "Ahuang."

As the years pass, Ahuang spends his whole life honoring his promise of companionship. In his silent vigil, he expresses a love that crosses species. Even at the end of his life, he is still waiting for the one who will never return.