#&&^^-.... ....-^^&
##@&%^^~-. .-~^^%&@##
#&%%^^~-.. ..-~^^%%
##@&%^^~-. .-~^^%&@##
&%%^--.... ....--^%%&
##@&%^^~-. 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? ...-~^^^&@
#&^~---... ...---~^
@&^^^~~-.. ..-~~^^^&@
##@&%^^~-. .-~^^%&@##
@%^-...... ......-^%@
@&&%%^^~-. .-~^^%%&&@