One day, a man is discussing a new story he wants to write about a poor aunt, but he is having trouble because he never personally had a poor aunt. His friend says that she had one, but despite this, she has no interest in writing about a poor aunt. The two discuss the topic of poor aunts, like who values them and how to write them. Then next day, he finds that a poor aunt has materialized on his back, and though he can't see it, everyone around him comments on her. She becomes a topic of discussion, with everyone near him stopping him to tell him who they think she is, or who she reminds them of. He goes on talk shows because the entire country is dumbfounded by this phenomenon of an aunt suddenly appearing on his back. He explains that the aunt is not real, and she did not climb onto his back; rather, because he and his friend had been discussing her, she was manifested by their words alone and he now carries her everywhere he goes, like a symbol. He lives his life as normally as possible, and one day when he's on a train, he witnesses a little girl becoming increasingly upset because her baby brother is ruining her hat. Failing to get her mom to intervene, the little girl instead slaps the baby and takes her hat back. The mother is furious, telling her that she is not part of her family anymore and not to talk to her. The crying girl sits next to him, and he wants to comfort her but doesn't know how. He thinks about he can't really save anyone. When he departs the train, he finds that his poor aunt has departed as mysteriously as she appeared. He calls his friend up to tell her the news, but she has just woken up and clearly has no interest in the matter. Instead, he lets her return to sleep, then imagines what a society of poor aunts might look like, and if they might appreciate his writings about them.