.....«:*£& &£*:«.....
......«:*£ £*:«......
.......«:* *:«.......
......«:*£ £*:«......
.....«:*£& &£*:«.....
....«:*£&@ 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? &£*:«.....
....«:*£&@ @&£*:«....
...«:*£&@# #@&£*:«...
..«:*£&@## ##@&£*:«..
...«:*£&@# #@&£*:«...
....«:*£&@ @&£*:«....