.,«=^*#@## ##@#*^=«,.
.,=^*#@### ###@#*^=,.
....«^**@@ @@**^«....
.,«=^*#@## ##@#*^=«,.
.,«=^*#@## ##@#*^=«,.
.,«=^*#@## 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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