,~«=%%&@##                                          ##@&%%=«~,
,,~«=%%&@#                                          #@&%%=«~,,
,,,~«=%%&@                                          @&%%=«~,,,
,,,,~«=%%&                                          &%%=«~,,,,
,,,~«=%%&@                                          @&%%=«~,,,
,,~«=%%&@#               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?          ##@&%%=«~,
,,~«=%%&@#                                          #@&%%=«~,,
,,,~«=%%&@                                          @&%%=«~,,,
,,,,~«=%%&                                          &%%=«~,,,,
,,,~«=%%&@                                          @&%%=«~,,,
,,~«=%%&@#                                          #@&%%=«~,,