@£$^\«,...                                          ...,«\^$£@
@@£$^\«,..                                          ..,«\^$£@@
#@@£$^\«,.                                          .,«\^$£@@#
@@£$^\«,..                                          ..,«\^$£@@
@£$^\«,...                                          ...,«\^$£@
£$^\«,....                Winds esker               ....,«\^$£
$^\«,..... «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« .....,«\^$
^\«,......                                          ......,«\^
\«,....... 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 ......,«\^
$^\«,..... Boats. I  Wondered, Could They  Even See .....,«\^$
£$^\«,.... Me?  If I Shouted, Would  They  Turn  To ....,«\^$£
@£$^\«,...         Stare Right Through Me?          ...,«\^$£@
@@£$^\«,..                                          ..,«\^$£@@
#@@£$^\«,.                                          .,«\^$£@@#
@@£$^\«,..                                          ..,«\^$£@@
@£$^\«,...                                          ...,«\^$£@
£$^\«,....                                          ....,«\^$£