Children have the power to give people a new lease of life, but for this Chinese man, a child-sized doll managed to do the trick!

Song Bo was diagnosed with a serious illness two years ago that gave him constant headaches and made him depressed. The condition was so bad that he was convinced he would never marry or have children. Little did he know that his life was about the change very soon.

While he was browsing the internet one day, Song came across a listing on e-commerce website Taobao for a child-sized love doll. He bought the 4’10” doll and fell in love with it the moment it arrived. It may have been just a realistic-looking doll to anyone else, but for Song Bo it was a new beginning. He started treating the doll like his daughter, taking it along wherever he went, and even gave it a name – Xiao Die (“little butterfly”)

Song Bo currently lives with his mother, who apparently had no objections when he brought the $2,200 doll into their lives. She probably noticed the effect it had on her depressed son from the beginning, and decided to be supportive instead of telling him that treating it like a real child wasn’t normal.

A series of photographs uploaded on Weibo shows the unlikely father-daughter duo enjoying days out at the cinema and in cafés. Song appears to be enjoying her company – his face reflects care and tenderness, as though is with a real child.

As sad and strange as this story may be, there’s also something heartwarming about their unusual bond.

Source: Zaeega via RocketNews24