##@£@£†«,.                                          .,«†£@£@##
@££†††,...                                          ...,†††££@
@@£@£%†«,.                                          .,«†%£@£@@
@@£@£%†«,.                                          .,«†%£@£@@
@££@£%†«,.                                          .,«†%£@££@
@@£%†††«,.               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?         ....«†%£@@
#@£@£%†«,.                                          .,«†%£@£@#
@£@@£%†«,.                                          .,«†%£@@£@
#@£@£%†«,.                                          .,«†%£@£@#
#@£@£%†«,.                                          .,«†%£@£@#
@@%%«.....                                          .....«%%@@