##£§%%^-^.                                          .^-^%%§£##
#£§%%^-^..                                          ..^-^%%§£#
£§%%^-^...                                          ...^-^%%§£
§%%^-^....                                          ....^-^%%§
£§%%^-^...                                          ...^-^%%§£
#£§%%^-^..                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?         .^-^%%§£##
#£§%%^-^..                                          ..^-^%%§£#
£§%%^-^...                                          ...^-^%%§£
§%%^-^....                                          ....^-^%%§
£§%%^-^...                                          ...^-^%%§£
#£§%%^-^..                                          ..^-^%%§£#