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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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