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.:«^*$¤¶@# #@¶¤$*^«:.
.:«^*$¤¶¶@ @¶¶¤$*^«:.
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.:«^*$¤¶@# Winds esker #@¶¤$*^«:.
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.:«^*$¤¶@# #@¶¤$*^«:.
.:«^*$$$¶@ There Was This Place That For Two Years @¶$$$*^«:.
.:«^*$¤¶## I Couldn'T Go To. Regardless How Much ##¶¤$*^«:.
....«^*$¤¶ Discussed With Others, Or Pointed Out ¶¤$*^«....
......:«*¤ 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 ¤*«.......
.:«^*$¤¤¤¶ Been Different Indeed. ¶¤¤¤$*^«:.
.......«*¤ ¤*«.......
.:«^*¤¶@## «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« ##@¶¤*^«:.
.:«^*$¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤$*^«:.
.:«^*$¤¶@# On The Lake, There Were People In #@¶¤$*^«:.
.:«^*$¤¶@@ Boats. I Wondered, Could They Even See @@¶¤$*^«:.
.:«^*$¤¶@# Me? If I Shouted, Would They Turn To #@¶¤$*^«:.
.:«^*$¤¶¶@ Stare Right Through Me? @¶¶¤$*^«:.
.:«^*$¶@## ##@¶$*^«:.
.....:^*¤@ @¤*^:.....
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