##¶&*†=~:¨ ¨:~=†*&¶##
&&†==~¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨~==†&&
¶&††~~~¨¨¨ ¨¨¨~~~††&¶
##¶&*†=~:¨ ¨:~=†*&¶##
###¶*†=~:¨ ¨:~=†*¶###
##¶&*†=~:¨ 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? ¨¨¨~==**¶¶
#&***†=~:¨ ¨:~=†***
&**=~:¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨:~=**&
&&&*=:::¨¨ ¨¨:::=*&&&
&*†~¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨~†*&
&&&*††=~:¨ ¨:~=††*&&&