.~~:%&§@## ##@§&%:~~.
......~:%§ §%:~......
....~~:&§@ @§&:~~....
.~~:%&§@@@ @@@§&%:~~.
.~~:%&§@@@ @@@§&%:~~.
.~~:%&§@## 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? §%~~......
.~:%&§@@## ##@@§&%:~.
.~~:%&@@## ##@@&%:~~.
.~~:%&§@@# #@@§&%:~~.
.~~~~%%&&§ §&&%%~~~~.
..~~~~~:%§ §%:~~~~~..