....:«=&&&                                          &&&=«:....
.:«†=&&@@#                                          #@@&&=†«:.
.....«††=&                                          &=††«.....
.:«†=&&&&&                                          &&&&&=†«:.
.:«†=&&@##                                          ##@&&=†«:.
.:«†=&&@@#               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?          #@@&&=†«:.
.:«†=&&&@@                                          @@&&&=†«:.
.:«†=&&@##                                          ##@&&=†«:.
.:«†=&&@@#                                          #@@&&=†«:.
...::††=&@                                          @&=††::...
.:«=&&@@##                                          ##@@&&=«:.