,,,,.~=^%& &%^=~.,,,,
,,,.~=^%&@ @&%^=~.,,,
,,.~=^%&@# #@&%^=~.,,
,.~=^%&@## ##@&%^=~.,
,,.~=^%&@# #@&%^=~.,,
,,,.~=^%&@ 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? &%^=~.,,,,
,,,.~=^%&@ @&%^=~.,,,
,,.~=^%&@# #@&%^=~.,,
,.~=^%&@## ##@&%^=~.,
,,.~=^%&@# #@&%^=~.,,
,,,.~=^%&@ @&%^=~.,,,