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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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