,,,,-:$§@¶ ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# winds esker #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## ---------------------------------------- ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ there was this place that for two years ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ i couldn't go to. regardless how much @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ discussed with others, or pointed out §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ on maps, i could not think of it when @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ alone. i would often travel past the ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# fork, where a right turn would surely #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## take me there, but even then, something ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# kept me away. #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ when i finally got there, after some @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ heavy subconscious battle i must §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ assume, the place was surreal. an @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ esker, like a needle-thin rift out in ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# the lake, but ten meters high and #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## adorned in birch, willow, bracken, and ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# blueberries. #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ walking atop that spine, i came to @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ notice the view to either side. there §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ should be shores, of course, but i @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ didn't recognize them. first off, they ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# were much too close, as the lake should #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## stretch for a hundred meters more on ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# both sides. but now i felt i could #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ almost reach out and touch them. and ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ then, when i realized which shores they @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ were, i had to stop. §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ they were of the right lake. but this ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# lake is large, fractured, and #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## bipartite. like a pair of lungs carved ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# into the granite, and with no less than #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ five communities anchored at various ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ points. and so, studying these @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ impossibly close shores, i slowly §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ understood them as belonging many miles @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ away. ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## i examined the ridge, the treeline ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# above. was this what you saw opposite, #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ from those other shores? i couldn't ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ remember. @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ carrying forward, on the very tip of @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ the esker, i found the ruins of some ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# old building. there were overgrown #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## marble staircases, stone floors beneath ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# the moss, and strange slabs inserted #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ into the slope like dams against the ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ ground itself. @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ sitting there, i could see across the @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ narrowed lake my entire path to where i ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# sat: from the stairwell of my house, #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## through the old woods behind the tile ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# factory, the bridge over route #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ twenty three and then back under it, ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ through the fancy villas, over the @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ fields, and then that right turn at the §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ fork. @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# and then the stairs up on the ridge. #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## thinking back, this was probably it. ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# hidden in a grove, there were stairs #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ much like the ones i currently sat on, ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ old and worn down, that lead you up @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ onto the esker. the point of entry. had §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ i insted opted to walk the path at its @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ foot, i'm sure my experience would've ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# been different indeed. #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# ---------------------------------------- #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ on the lake, there were people in @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,,,-:$§ boats. i wondered, could they even see §$:-,,,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ me? if i shouted, would they turn to @§$:-,,,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ stare right through me? ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,-:$§@¶# #¶@§$:-,,,
,,-:$§@¶## ##¶@§$:-,,
,,,-:$§@¶# #¶@§$:-,,,
,,,,-:$§@¶ ¶@§$:-,,,,
,,,,,-:$§@ @§$:-,,,,,