Fire Pig

Lunar New Year fell on Jan 31. Anyone born before that date belongs to the previous year (Dog).

Pigs have a talent for making people relax. They do not rush to judge and they do not keep score, and after sitting with one for a while you notice you are talking more than usual. Good food, good sleep, a comfortable ordinary day: none of it embarrasses them. They read as generous, easy, without an angle. The part people miss is that they are not naive. They see most of it and decide that saying it out loud is not worth the evening. They are the reason a bad week still ends with a shared meal and a real laugh.

Yi is the vine that travels along a wall, Hai the low ground where water collects. The hilltop fire sits under that damp and neither catches nor goes out; there is more smoke than flame. People like this have heat inside and few ways to let it out, so most of it is digested privately. They avoid fights and step back first, then replay the scene many times. Ask what is wrong and they say nothing. They hate being a burden, and find a corner to sit in until it passes.