.....~~*$¤ ¤$*~~.....
....~~*$¤& &¤$*~~....
...~~*$¤&@ @&¤$*~~...
..~~*$¤&@@ @@&¤$*~~..
.~~*$¤&@@# #@@&¤$*~~.
..~~*$¤&@@ winds esker @@&¤$*~~..
...~~*$¤&@ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @&¤$*~~...
....~~*$¤& &¤$*~~....
.....~~*$¤ there was this place that for two years ¤$*~~.....
......~~*$ 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 $*~~......
.......~~* boats. i wondered, could they even see *~~.......
........~~ me? if i shouted, would they turn to ~~........
.........~ stare right through me? ~.........
.......... ..........
.........~ ~.........
........~~ ~~........
.......~~* *~~.......
......~~*$ $*~~......