The pet I’ll never forget: Pi-chan the goldfinch, the baby bird we refused to let die

‘He stayed in the tree in our front garden for a couple of days – and then he was gone.’ Photograph: Andrew_Howe/Getty Images/iStockphoto

One day in 2008, my husband, Hiraki, was making a film for which he decided he needed some vintage birdcages. We headed to the antiques market as the sky was lightening. Get there too late and we might not find anything to buy.

After going around the market a few times and paying for several cages, we were standing under a tree, deciding whether to call it a day, when, suddenly there was a baby bird on the ground at our feet.