§§§¨§¨§¨§¨ ¨§¨§§§¨§¨¨
¨§§¨§¨§¨§¨ §§¨¨§§¨§¨§
¨¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
¨§§¨§¨§¨§¨ §§¨§¨§¨§¨§
¨¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
¨§§¨§¨§¨§¨ 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? ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
¨§§¨§¨§¨§¨ §§¨§¨§¨§¨§
¨¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
¨§§¨§¨§¨§¨ §§¨§¨§¨§¨§
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¨§§¨§¨§¨§¨ §§¨§¨§¨§¨§