¨¨¨¨¨,-†^& &^†-,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,-†^ ^†-,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,-† †-,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,- -,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨, ,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ 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? ##£@&^†-,¨
¨¨,-†^&@£# #£@&^†-,¨¨
¨¨¨,-†^&@£ £@&^†-,¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,-†^&@ @&^†-,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,-†^& &^†-,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,-†^ ^†-,¨¨¨¨¨¨