,,=†*$@### ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@@## ##@@$*†=,,
,,,=†††$## ##$†††=,,,
,,,,,,=*$@ , , , @$*=,,,,,,
,,,=†*$$@# , , , , , , #@$$*†=,,,
,,=††*$@@# , , , , , , , , #@@$*††=,,
,,=†*$@@## = = = = = = = = = = = ##@@$*†=,,
,,,,,=*@@# †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† #@@*=,,,,,
,,,,,==†*@ @*†==,,,,,
,,=†*$@### just off the coast to the baltic sea ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### there's a freshwater pond, secluded ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### among ashen and juniper. a cleft in the ###@$*†=,,
,,,,=†*@@# limestone bedrock, sharp-cut from the #@@*†=,,,,
,,,,==*$## surrounding plains, a ninety degree ##$*==,,,,
,,=†*$@### drop down, down, to the midnight-black ###@$*†=,,
,,=†††$$## water. ##$$†††=,,
,,,,=**$@# #@$**=,,,,
,,=†*$$$@# ====********==== #@$$$*†=,,
,,,====†$# ==** **== #$†====,,,
,,=†*$@### =====** fairies live here. **===== ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### ==** **== ###@$*†=,,
,,=††**$@# ====********==== #@$**††=,,
,,,,,=†$## ##$†=,,,,,
,,,,,,†*@@ they speak to the sloane, caress it, @@*†,,,,,,
,,,,,,†**@ urge it to grow thicker, tangled, with @**†,,,,,,
,,,,,,,†$# longer and sharper thorns. they tell it #$†,,,,,,,
,,=†*$@### to stay just below the grass, so that ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### the animals what come to drink the ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### water cannot see it before it draws ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### their blood. closer to the pond, the ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### sloane can grow taller, being able to ###@$*†=,,
,,,=†*$$## hide also in the juniper. ##$$*†=,,,
,,=†*$@### ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### the fairies will beckon the animals to ###@$*†=,,
,,=†††*@@# push forward, tell them that they're #@@*†††=,,
,,=†*$@### almost at the water, that they may ###@$*†=,,
,,,,==†$@@ drink soon. and they will tug on the @@$†==,,,,
,,,,==*$## sloane to make sure that the thorns cut ##$*==,,,,
,,=†*$@### deep. when they finally find the path ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@@## down between the rocks, away from the ##@@$*†=,,
,,,,††*@## bushwork and into the cleft, they are ##@*††,,,,
,,=†*$@### bleeding from a thousand wounds. as ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### they drink from the dark water, it is ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### in turn drinking the animals blood. ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### ###@$*†=,,
,,,,=†$@## the circle is complete, the contract ##@$†=,,,,
,,=†*$@### carried out; the animal is abandoned to ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### find its own way back. the bushes roots ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### drink the nutrutious water. the fairies ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### dance in the sunbeams. ###@$*†=,,
,,,,,===*@ @*===,,,,,
,,=†*$@### †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### = = = = = = = = = = = ###@$*†=,,
,,=†*$@### , , , , , , , , ###@$*†=,,
,,,,†††$$@ , , , , , , @$$†††,,,,
,,,,,=***@ , , , @***=,,,,,
,,,,,,=†*@ @*†=,,,,,,
,,,=††$$$@ @$$$††=,,,
,,=†*$@### ###@$*†=,,
,,,,,,††$# #$††,,,,,,
,,=†*$$$## ##$$$*†=,,