###£@=\«~. .~«\=@£###
##@\«..... .....«\@##
##£#@=\«~. .~«\=@#£##
#===\««... ...««\===#
##£#@=\«~. .~«\=@#£##
##£#@=\«~. 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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