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