Man with serious illness carries child-sized doll everywhere

Two years ago, Song Bo was diagnosed with a serious illness which gave him constant headaches and brought upon depression.

Convinced he would never marry or have children, Song was browsing the internet one day when he stumbled upon a listing on China's online shopping site Taobao that was to give him new hope.

Song bought a child-sized love doll, just 145cm tall (4'10"), and now takes her everywhere with him. The doll may be pint-sized, but as this tender photo series shows, she seems to have changed his life.

The photo series shows the two enjoying days out together at the cinema or in cafes, report RocketNews24 and Zaeega.

Song takes her on the subway around Tianjin and carries her tenderly across busy roads. He enjoys taking photos with her, such as these shots that were uploaded to Chinese social networking site Weibo.

Song lives with his mother, who apparently did not object to her son bringing the US$2,200 doll into their lives. He treats the doll as a daughter, and has named her Xiao Die ("little butterfly").

Wherever he goes, Little Butterfly goes too. It's a sad story (although we're glad to hear that Song has apparently found new hope thanks to his silicon friend), but there's no denying the photos are arresting and emotional.

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