,,,,,«††%§                                          §%††«,,,,,
,,,,««†=§#                                          #§=†««,,,,
,.«†=%§@##                                          ##@§%=†«.,
,,,««†††%@                                          @%†††««,,,
,.«†=%%%§@                                          @§%%%=†«.,
,.†=%§@###               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?          @§%=††«,,,
,.«†=%%§@@                                          @@§%%=†«.,
,,,«†††=§@                                          @§=†††«,,,
,.«†===%§#                                          #§%===†«.,
,,,,«†=%§§                                          §§%=†«,,,,
,,,,,.«=§§                                          §§=«.,,,,,