A Tribute To 小胖 (Xiao Pang)

Before arriving at Carrefour that afternoon, the idea of buying a pet crab had never crossed our minds. It was just one of those decisions you make at the spur of the moment. The salesman was rather confused when I asked him what I should feed it. Haha He wasn’t overly helpful. Minutes later we were walking out of Carrefour with a live crab in a plastic bag.

It wasn’t long before the word got around about our pet, and everyone wanted to see our crab scuttle across the shower floor and blow bubbles from his mouth. I don’t think any crab has ever been more loved. I particularly remember the day our cleaning lady first found out we had a crab. Coming back to my room after class I heard her call out to me from up the hall:

Lady: Hey! What’s that crab doing in your bathroom?! It scared me half to death this morning! You know you’re not allowed to have pets!
Me: That’s not a pet… that’s our dinner.
Lady: Dinner?! And how are you planning to cook that?! (We don’t have stoves or ovens in our dorms.)
……... (Responding with a straight face)
Me: Microwave.
Lady: Microwave!? You’re going to cook it in the microwave!?
Me: What can I say? I like my seafood to be fresh.

A couple of days ago 小胖 died. It was almost midnight and raining, but using chopsticks we buried our little friend in the rose bed just outside our dorm window. He will be missed.