~^........ ........^~
^......... .........^
.......... ..........
^......... .........^
~^........ ........^~
:~^....... 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? ..^~:§@¶@#
@¶@§:~^... ...^~:§@¶@
¶@§:~^.... ....^~:§@¶
@§:~^..... .....^~:§@
§:~^...... ......^~:§
:~^....... .......^~: