#$::-::¨¨¨ ¨¨¨::-::$#
####$=:-:¨ ¨:-:=$####
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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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