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