Departure and Arrival: The Curious Happening of an Entomologist's Journey, by Toli Kram

Grober Schillerfalter over the last few months had gained a great deal of weight, and as he took his seat on the Glasgow train he took up most of the two places.  As the train left the station he reached under the table and retracted a large holdall.  Unzipping it, he removed a copy of "European Butterflies and Moths" by W. F. Kirby, then taking out the rest of the contents, assorted cans of pop, bags of crisps, popcorn, Mars bars, Snickers and many other chocolate treats.  Soon he was noisily munching, chewing and making a mess of his immediate surroundings as well as of himself with bits of crisps and chocolate around his mouth.

After all this he sat very still and quiet with a blank stare and his stomach began gurgling, rumbling, dancing and popping under his brown sweater knitted by his elderly aunt.  The only thing moving was his fidgeting hand that tugged and played with the hem of his sweater.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, his fingers found the end thread that had not been securely finished, and he tugged at it;  so much so that he wrapped two fingers in the brown wool.  The man sitting opposite had his eyes transfixed as the thread of wool darted to and fro across Grober's large rotund belly.  It zigzagged across him, disappearing under his jacket on both sides and inched up over his stomach to his chest, revealing a brightly patterned blue and purple Hawaiian shirt.  By this time the wool wrapped around his hand was the size of a small bowling ball.

After a few hours an announcement came over the train’s tannoy system telling passengers they were approaching the last stop.  Grober Schillerfalter slowly but carefully removed the ball from his hand, picked up his book and all the debris around him and put it in his bag, then took out a tissue from his jacket and wiped his face and hands.  The squealing breaks and rocking of the carriage stirred him deeply, as if something excitingly different was going to happen soon.  He felt strangely abnormal in some way, but couldn’t explain it.  Onto the platform with a few others he stepped, glanced around to get his bearings, and walked over to a large rubbish bin.  He stood looking down into the empty space, and into it threw his bag, then his coat, and what remained of his sweater and his shoes.

The platform was nearly empty on this sunny Sunday morning. He turned and moved towards the exit.  As he walked he unbuttoned the Hawaiian shirt, holding the bottom corners with his hands. He raised his arms and flapped them as his heals rose.  He flapped his arms again and again several times and his toes gently left the platform surface as he fluttered silently out of the station.

("Schillerfalter" is the Purple Emperor butterfly)