#¶&$†=:... ...:=†$&¶#
¶&$†=:.... ....:=†$&¶
&$†=:..... .....:=†$&
$†=:...... ......:=†$
†=:....... .......:=†
=:........ 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. ..........
:......... .........:
=:........ ======================================== ........:=
†=:....... .......:=†
$†=:...... On The Lake, There Were People In ......:=†$
&$†=:..... Boats. I Wondered, Could They Even See .....:=†$&
¶&$†=:.... Me? If I Shouted, Would They Turn To ....:=†$&¶
#¶&$†=:... Stare Right Through Me? ...:=†$&¶#
##¶&$†=:.. ..:=†$&¶##
###¶&$†=:. .:=†$&¶###
##¶&$†=:.. ..:=†$&¶##
#¶&$†=:... ...:=†$&¶#
¶&$†=:.... ....:=†$&¶