##&§§/=-.. ..-=/§§#
###&§§/=-. .-=/§§##
##&§§/=-.. ..-=/§§#
#&§§/=-... ...-=/§§
&§§/=-.... ....-=/§§&
§§/=-..... 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? ....-=/§§&
§§/=-..... .....-=/§§
&§§/=-.... ....-=/§§&
#&§§/=-... ...-=/§§
##&§§/=-.. ..-=/§§#
###&§§/=-. .-=/§§##