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§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ 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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§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ ¨§¨§§¨§¨§¨
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ §§¨¨§¨§¨§¨
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ ¨§¨§§¨§¨§¨
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