¶&%†\~^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^~\†%&¶
@¶&%†\~^¨¨ ¨¨^~\†%&¶@
#@¶&%†\~^¨ ¨^~\†%&¶@#
@¶&%†\~^¨¨ ¨¨^~\†%&¶@
¶&%†\~^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^~\†%&¶
&%†\~^¨¨¨¨ 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? ¨¨¨^~\†%&¶
&%†\~^¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨^~\†%&
%†\~^¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨^~\†%
&%†\~^¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨^~\†%&
¶&%†\~^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^~\†%&¶
@¶&%†\~^¨¨ ¨¨^~\†%&¶@