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#£§@%:-~¨¨ 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. ¨¨~-:%@§£#
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#£§@%:-~¨¨ ---------------------------------------- ¨¨~-:%@§£#
##£§@%:-~¨ ¨~-:%@§£##
#£§@%:-~¨¨ 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? ¨~-:%@§£##
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