...,,====¤ ¤====,,...
.,~==@¤#@# #@#¤@==~,.
.,~==@¤#@# #@#¤@==~,.
.,~==@¤#@@ @@#¤@==~,.
.....,==@¤ ¤@==,.....
.,~==@¤#@# 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? #¤==,,....
.,~==@¤#@# #@#¤@==~,.
.,~==@¤¤#@ @#¤¤@==~,.
.,~==@¤#@# #@#¤@==~,.
.,~==@¤#@# #@#¤@==~,.
....,~=@¤¤ ¤¤@=~,....