¶¶¶£%†\=~,                                          ,~=\†%£¶¶¶
##¶£%†\=~,                                          ,~=\†%£¶##
£†==,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,==†£
£%%%\\\=~,                                          ,~=\\\%%%£
#@¶£%†\=~,                                          ,~=\†%£¶@#
£%†\====~,                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?          ,~=\†%£¶@@
¶%%%†==~~,                                          ,~~==†%%%¶
#@¶£%†\=~,                                          ,~=\†%£¶@#
£†\~,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,~\†£
##@¶£%†=~,                                          ,~=†%£¶@##
@£†==~,,,,                                          ,,,,~==†£@