,,,,~~~%@¶ ¶@%~~~,,,,
,-~:%£@@¶# #¶@@£%:~-,
,-~:%£@¶¶¶ ¶¶¶@£%:~-,
,-~:%£@¶## ##¶@£%:~-,
,-~:%£@¶## ##¶@£%:~-,
,-~~~~:£@¶ 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? ###¶@£%:~-
,-~:%£@¶## ##¶@£%:~-,
,-~:%£@¶## ##¶@£%:~-,
,,,,,,~%@# #@%~,,,,,,
,-~:%£@¶## ##¶@£%:~-,
,-~:%£@¶## ##¶@£%:~-,