This story is part of The Glowt's "Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone" series where we interview people who put it all on the line to do something absolutely batshit crazy.
Forty-four-year old Camilla Wallace was quite satisfied with her life, working at a civil defense law firm where she hoped to make partner in two years' time. She married her undergrad sweetheart and was raising two beautiful girls in their four-bedroom class Boston brownstone.
As Wallace states, “It was a great life. My daughters were both in high school, one on Varsity track and the other the star in the school play. My husband had a good job, was a great father, and still pinched my butt when I walked by. We were even talking about getting a dog for the girls...until Willow came to town.”
Willow Howls was Wallace’s old college roommate.
“She sent me a letter, or really, it was a scroll with a message written in calligraphy to meet her for coffee. I wasn’t even really sure who it was because I didn’t know a Willow Howls...but in parentheses at the bottom she put the name I knew her by, or what she called her “Earth name.”
After meeting at the local cafe, Howls explained to Wallace how she had spent her time since school, and how she had come to find her. Wallace admits it was a very strange meeting at first.
“She showed up in a velvet cape and kind of twirled around until she saw where I was sitting. Then she sat down and greeted me in this whispery, high-pitched voice...and then ordered an iced mocha latte. It was my husband’s birthday and we were going to go out for dinner, but what she asked me next would change my life forever, and my plans for that evening.”
What was meant to be a typical meeting of old friends catching up took an unexpected turn.
Wallace continued. “She asked me what I know about peacocks. So naturally, I gave all the information I knew about peacocks...typical plumage, diet, behavior, life expectancy...anything a normal person would know. After I was finished citing my peacock facts, she just looked at me and started to cackle, then proclaimed, 'You know nothing about peacocks. Come, we must away so you can learn the real truth.'"
Six weeks later, Milque of the Peacoque was born.
Wallace quit her job, left her husband and daughters, and invested all of her savings into a small plot of land in Vermont.
“I feel more free and enlightened now than I ever did before. Willow taught me all about the method of milking these magnificent creatures and how we can help society benefit from ingesting this delicious and nutritious nectar from the peafowl folk -- for just $85 for a 12 oz. bottle. Most of it has to be cut with cow’s milk, but what we get from the peahens makes it a truly magical experience.”
Howls and Wallace now reside in a tree house on their peacock farm after building a $50,000 shelter for their birds. Wallace has since separated from her husband and now goes by the name “Peaony.”
Peaony (Wallace) proclaims that she loves her new vocation. “Milking the peacocks is not easy and there’s usually a lot of screeching involved when we have to pin them down, but I wouldn’t give up these scratch marks on my arms for anything. It gives my life new meaning and I can’t wait until we actually sell a bottle.”