..,~;;;*%# #%*;;;~,..
......~*%@ @%*~......
.,~;*%@### ###@%*;~,.
.....,~~*@ @*~~,.....
...,;;%%@# #@%%;;,...
.,~;*%@### 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? ###@%*;~,.
.,~;*%@### ###@%*;~,.
.,~;*%@### ###@%*;~,.
.,~;;;*%## ##%*;;;~,.
.,~;*%@### ###@%*;~,.
...,~;*%%@ @%%*;~,...