##@£¤§†=:.                                          .:=†§¤£@##
#@£¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤£@#
¤$§==.....                                          .....==§$¤
##@¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤@##
#@£¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤£@#
#@£¤$§†=:.                Winds esker               .:=†§$¤£@#
¤¤$§§†=... ======================================== ...=†§§$¤¤
£$†=......                                          ......=†$£
¤§§§=:.... 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 .......=§¤
@£¤¤$§†=:. I Insted  Opted To Walk  The Path At Its .:=†§$¤¤£@
#@£¤$§†=:. Foot, I'M  Sure My  Experience  Would'Ve .:=†§$¤£@#
#@£¤$§†=:.          Been Different Indeed.          .:=†§$¤£@#
#@£¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤£@#
£££¤$§†=:. ======================================== .:=†§$¤£££
#@£¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤£@#
#@£¤$§†=:. On  The  Lake,  There   Were  People  In .:=†§$¤£@#
@@£¤$§†=:. Boats.  I Wondered,  Could They Even See .:=†§$¤£@@
#@£¤$§†=:. Me?  If I Shouted,  Would They  Turn  To .:=†§$¤£@#
¤¤$†=::...          Stare Right Through Me?         ...::=†$¤¤
#@£¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤£@#
#@£¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤£@#
££$††††=:.                                          .:=††††$££
#@£¤$§†=:.                                          .:=†§$¤£@#
@£$$§§†=:.                                          .:=†§§$$£@