#§***«~~~¨                                          ¨~~~«***§#
###§%**«~¨                                          ¨~«**%§###
§**««~~¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨~~««**§
###§%**«~¨                                          ¨~«**%§###
#§*««¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨««*§#
§**«~¨¨¨¨¨               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?          ¨~«**%§###
§§§**«««~¨                                          ¨~«««**§§§
###§%**«~¨                                          ¨~«**%§###
###§%**«~¨                                          ¨~«**%§###
####§%*«~¨                                          ¨~«*%§####
#%%%%**«~¨                                          ¨~«**%%%%#