§$:«,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,,                                          ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,,                                          ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,,                                          ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,,                                          ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,,               Winds esker                ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,, «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,,                                          ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,, There  Was This Place That For Two Years ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,, I Couldn'T Go  To. Regardless  How  Much ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,, Discussed  With  Others, Or Pointed  Out ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,, On  Maps, I  Could Not Think Of It  When ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,, Alone. I  Would  Often Travel  Past  The ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,, Fork,  Where A Right  Turn Would  Surely ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,, Take Me There, But Even Then,  Something ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,,              Kept Me Away.               ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,,                                          ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,, When  I  Finally Got There,  After  Some ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,,     Heavy Subconscious Battle I Must     ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,, Assume,   The  Place  Was  Surreal.   An ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,, Esker, Like A Needle-Thin  Rift  Out  In ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,, The  Lake,  But  Ten  Meters  High   And ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,, Adorned In Birch,  Willow,  Bracken, And ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,,               Blueberries.               ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,,                                          ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,, Walking  Atop  That  Spine,  I  Came  To ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,, Notice  The  View  To Either Side. There ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,, Should  Be  Shores,  Of  Course,  But  I ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,, Didn'T Recognize  Them. First Off,  They ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,, Were Much Too Close, As The Lake  Should ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,, Stretch  For  A Hundred Meters  More  On ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,, Both  Sides.  But  Now I  Felt  I  Could ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,, Almost Reach  Out And  Touch  Them.  And ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,, Then,  When I Realized Which Shores They ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,,           Were, I Had To Stop.           ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,,                                          ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,, They  Were Of  The Right Lake. But  This ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,,      Lake Is Large, Fractured, And       ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,, Bipartite.  Like A Pair  Of Lungs Carved ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,, Into The Granite, And With  No Less Than ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,,   Five Communities Anchored At Various   ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,,      Points. And So, Studying These      ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,,     Impossibly Close Shores, I Slowly    ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,, Understood Them As Belonging  Many Miles ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,,                   Away.                  ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,,                                          ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,, I  Examined  The   Ridge,  The  Treeline ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,, Above.  Was This What You Saw  Opposite, ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,, From  Those  Other  Shores?  I  Couldn'T ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,,                Remember.                 ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,, Carrying  Forward, On  The  Very  Tip Of ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,, The Esker,  I Found  The  Ruins  Of Some ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,,    Old Building. There Were Overgrown    ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,,  Marble Staircases, Stone Floors Beneath ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,, The  Moss,  And  Strange Slabs  Inserted ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,, Into  The Slope  Like  Dams  Against The ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,,              Ground Itself.              ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,, Sitting There,  I  Could  See Across The ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,, Narrowed Lake My Entire  Path To Where I ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,, Sat:  From  The  Stairwell Of  My House, ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,, Through The  Old Woods Behind  The  Tile ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,,      Factory, The Bridge Over Route      ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,, Twenty three  And  Then  Back Under  It, ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,, Through  The  Fancy  Villas,  Over   The ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,, Fields, And Then That Right  Turn At The ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,,                  Fork.                   ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,, And Then  The  Stairs  Up  On The Ridge. ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,, Thinking Back,  This  Was  Probably  It. ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,, Hidden In  A  Grove,  There  Were Stairs ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,, Much Like  The Ones  I Currently Sat On, ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,, Old  And Worn  Down,  That  Lead You  Up ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,, Onto The Esker. The Point Of Entry.  Had ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,, I Insted Opted To  Walk The  Path At Its ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,, Foot,  I'M Sure  My  Experience Would'Ve ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,,          Been Different Indeed.          ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,, «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« ,,,,,,,«:$
§$:«,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,«:$§
&§$:«,,,,, On  The  Lake,  There   Were  People  In ,,,,,«:$§&
#&§$:«,,,, Boats. I  Wondered, Could They Even  See ,,,,«:$§&#
##&§$:«,,, Me? If  I Shouted,  Would They  Turn  To ,,,«:$§&##
###&§$:«,,         Stare Right Through Me?          ,,«:$§&###
##&§$:«,,,                                          ,,,«:$§&##
#&§$:«,,,,                                          ,,,,«:$§&#
&§$:«,,,,,                                          ,,,,,«:$§&
§$:«,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,«:$§
$:«,,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,,«:$