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#@%%%«««^. 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? .^«:%£@@##
##@@£%:«^. .^«:%£@@##
###@£%:«^. .^«:%£@###
#@£%:^.... ....^:%£@#
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