A New York student has befriended a butterfly that never leaves his side. Yes, you heard it right! It might sound strange, but it is true.
As humans, we never expect animals (except for a few pets) to display affection. But, this story of a student and a butterfly will change your conception.
As per sources, their relationship began with an act of kindness. While heading home from school, Andreas Alfaro found a butterfly at the bottom of a staircase. It was trapped inside with nowhere to go, so Alfaro decided to help the little insect out. He picked her up, placed her on his shoulder, and walked outside.
Strangely, she didn’t fly away even when he hopped on his bike and rode all the way from Brooklyn to Manhattan. It was at that point he says he “felt that bond” with the butterfly, who he named Penelope.
From that day forward, the two were inseparable. On his way to class, Alfaro kept Penelope on his shoulder the entire time. He’d play with her, placing him on his fingers, neck, and lapel, walking to and from class with a butterfly clinging to him every step of the way.
Andreas fed Penelope sugar water from a spoon and even built her a little home in his apartment with leaves and twigs from the neighborhood. Although she was never confined to her space and would often fly over to Alfaro’s pillow while he slept.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Monarch butterflies have a life span of 2-5 weeks, and after 5 days, Andreas got a call from his roommate telling him that Penelope had died in the home that Andreas had made for her.
It was a hard blow, but Andreas was comforted by the fact that Penelope had chosen to spend the last few days of her life with him and nobody else.
Now Alfaro is in Los Angeles living his best life. You can catch him performing extreme sports on his Instagram, where he’ll also post a few private videos of Penelope in the near future.
Agencies