##%§;~^... ...^~;§%##
###%§;~^.. ..^~;§%###
####%§;~^. .^~;§%####
###%§;~^.. ..^~;§%###
##%§;~^... ...^~;§%##
#%§;~^.... 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? ...^~;§%##
###%§;~^.. ..^~;§%###
####%§;~^. .^~;§%####
###%§;~^.. ..^~;§%###
##%§;~^... ...^~;§%##
#%§;~^.... ....^~;§%#