A rainbow crossing, a chai, and a familiar face — Anu’s first real steps on Earth begin.
We’ve spent the beginning five chapters of Enanika travelling with Anu through the fascinating, vibrant world of Enanika—watching her prepare for her first solo mission, learning about Contact Callers, and witnessing the mystic power of the Seed-of-Life sculpture, the living geometry capable of carrying a being from one realm to another.
Now, in Chapters 6 and 7, Anu steps into Milkwood—a thriving rural town of mineral springs and rainbow crossings, a haven for artists, healers, LGBTQ+ folk, and colourful nonconformists. Here, she begins her Earth-life in earnest, navigating some very human challenges and meeting someone she never expected to find on this planet.
Chapter 6: Milkwood
On Earth:
Milkwood hadn’t always been the colourful, open-hearted, and open-minded place Anu was stepping into. For most of its history, it was a regular country town—quiet, modest, shaped by old farming families and the remnants of a brief gold rush that had fizzled out more than a century ago. The land held stories of hard work, family orchards, and sheep, cattle, and dairy farms. People came and went, but nothing much changed. Milkwood was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone else, and new ideas arrived slowly, if at all.
In the early decades of the twentieth century, something small but significant shifted. Milkwood’s mineral springs had always been there, bubbling quietly at the edges of the bush, but people from the city started coming to “take the waters.” A few guesthouses opened, then closed again as fashions changed. There were moments when the town seemed poised to become something different, but each time it drifted back into what it already knew. By the mid-century, Milkwood had grown conservative again—the kind of place where you could easily lose your job for being discovered as gay.
Then, without any official announcement or grand turning point, Milkwood began to attract a different kind of visitor. In the late seventies and early eighties, artists drifted in, lured by cheap rent and the soft beauty of the surrounding hills. Writers came for the quiet. Healers came because the springs felt alive. And gay couples found a place where they could build their own supportive communities. The town welcomed them without fuss, as naturally as it accepted the changing seasons.
Over the years, the shift became unmistakable. Colourful flags appeared in shop windows. Wholefood cafes opened beside old pubs. Art galleries and crystal shops not only crept in apologetically but thrived. The main street filled with a bright, creative hum, as the town exhaled and made room for a wider, more imaginative life. The community grew into a tapestry of artists, musicians, spiritual seekers, herbalists, and “oddballs” of every kind. Milkwood didn’t plan to become an alternative haven. It became one by attraction rather than intention.
By the time Anu arrived, the transformation was complete. Milkwood was a place where people came to reinvent themselves, to heal, to create, or simply to live in a way that felt honest. It was the perfect town for someone like her. If anywhere on Earth was going to feel not too grating to a Nanik, it was Milkwood.
Chapter 7: Organic Cafe and Store
From the outside, Anu’s Milkwood unit couldn’t have looked more ordinary. It was the back unit in a row of identical, nondescript dwellings—not unkempt but definitely on the lower-budget side—with a street rockery garden made of weeds and whatever hardy plants had survived the years with zero care and watering. The surrounding street held other uninspiring units and a handful of unused buildings. None of them were ever broken into; whoever lived there would have had nothing worth stealing.
It didn’t take Anu long to realise that there was very little in her own unit to support her. A bed with bedding. A table with two chairs. A washing machine. And a fridge with one shelf of fruit and vegetables. She stared at the modest collection of food and realised she hadn’t been briefed on how she was supposed to pay for more once this ran out. She was not exactly qualified for Earth work.
Deciding that a walk to the shops might provide some guidance, Anu wandered with childlike curiosity along the few streets that led to the town’s main strip. She crossed the rainbow-painted pedestrian crossing and paused to look into each window. The shops were bright and creative, but she didn’t go inside. Walking in without money felt awkward on this world.
She sat on an empty bench beside one of the mineral-spring taps. At least the water is free, she thought. She drank deeply and felt the worry soften inside her.
Ask for help, her higher mind said.
Who will I ask? she wondered.
Looking up, she noticed a cafe and grocery shop with a wooden sign: Milkwood Organic Cafe & Store. The windows were warm with soft light, and she could see shelves of produce and people sitting at small tables, engaged and unhurried. She walked closer, standing just outside the window, staring in at the loaves of fresh bread. The pull to enter outweighed her hesitancy.
Inside, the air smelled of roast vegetables and freshly ground coffee. Wooden crates held local produce—apples from a farm on the edge of town, jars of honey with hand-written labels, and clusters of herbs wrapped in brown paper. A shelf near the counter displayed handmade soaps, beeswax candles, and small bottles of mineral spring water.
Two women were behind the counter—one making coffee, the other arranging loaves of sourdough on a wooden board. They looked up as Anu entered with the familiar welcome of people used to strangers drifting through Milkwood.
“Morning,” the older woman said. “First time in?”
Anu nodded. “I’m new to town.”
“Welcome. Let me know if you need help with anything.”
Anu walked slowly down the narrow aisles, wondering how she was going to graciously exit the shop after such an inviting welcome.
She jumped slightly as a hand touched her shoulder.
“Anu?”
She turned. A man in an apron stood there with happy eyes of recognition.
“Enlan?” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
He stepped back slightly, glancing over his shoulder.
“I thought you went to planet Teralin,” continued Anu.
“I did,” he said quietly. “For a little while. But I got bored. Nadhir said, ‘Try Earth. You won’t be bored there!’ And… here I am. I’ve been here for the last few months.”
Someone called from the kitchen. “Order up!”
“Gotta’ go,” said Enlan hurriedly.
A few minutes later, he returned with a hot, fragrant chai and nodded towards one of the outside tables. “For you. I’ve got it.”
“You need work,” said Enlan. “They’re always looking for people here. I’ll… make something up about you.”
Anu wasn’t sure what he planned to “make up,” what would be Earth-appropriate and Earth-helpful. But she breathed more easily and felt that, at least, she wasn’t going to fail her first solo mission by virtue of starvation.
“Thanks, Enlan.” She smiled. “I’m glad you found Teralin boring.”
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