#@@¤@=*~,, ,,~*=@¤@@#
@@¤@@=*~,, ,,~*=@@¤@@
@@@¤@=*~,, ,,~*=@¤@@@
@@¤==~~,,, ,,,~~==¤@@
@@@¤@=*~,, ,,~*=@¤@@@
@¤¤@*~,,,, 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? ,,~*=@¤@@@
#@@¤@=*~,, ,,~*=@¤@@#
@@@@@=*~,, ,,~*=@@@@@
¤@@*,,,,,, ,,,,,,*@@¤
@@===*,,,, ,,,,*===@@
@@¤===*~,, ,,~*===¤@@