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##@£@$*\~. .~\*$@£@##
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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. .^~\*$@£@#
@*~~...... ......~~*@
#@£@$*\~^. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .^~\*$@£@#
##@@$*\~^. .^~\*$@@##
#@£@$*\~^. 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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