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