¤,,,¤,¤,¤¤ ¤,,¤¤¤¤,¤,
¤,,¤¤,¤,,¤ ¤,¤,¤¤¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,¤¤ ¤,¤,,¤¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,,¤ ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,¤¤ ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,,¤ 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? ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,,¤ ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,¤¤ ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,,¤ ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,¤¤ ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,
¤,¤,¤,¤,,¤ ¤,¤,¤,¤,¤,