##@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@##
##@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@##
##@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@##
@@£/~~.... ....~~/£@@
##@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@##
##@@£^/~~. 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? .~/^£@@###
##@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@##
##@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@##
@£££/~.... ....~/£££@
#@@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@@#
##@@£^/~~. .~~/^£@@##