.,«†§§#@##                                          ##@#§§†«,.
.,,,††$§§§                                          §§§$††,,,.
.....,†§§#                                          #§§†,.....
.,«†$§§#@#                                          #@#§§$†«,.
.,«†$§§#@#                                          #@#§§$†«,.
.....,†§§#               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 #§§†«««...
.,«†$§#@## foot, i'm  sure  my experience  would've ##@#§$†«,.
....,†$§#@          been different indeed.          @#§$†,....
....,«††§#                                          #§††«,....
.,«†$§§#@# «««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««« #@#§§$†«,.
.,«†$§§§§#                                          #§§§§$†«,.
.,«†$§§#@@ on  the   lake,  there  were  people  in @@#§§$†«,.
.,«††$§§§§ boats.  i  wondered, could they even see §§§§$††«,.
.,«†$§§§## me?  if i  shouted,  would they turn  to ##§§§$†«,.
.,«†$§§§§#         stare right through me?          #§§§§$†«,.
.,«««†§§§@                                          @§§§†«««,.
.,«†$§§#@#                                          #@#§§$†«,.
.,«†$§§#@#                                          #@#§§$†«,.
.,«†$§§#@#                                          #@#§§$†«,.
.,«†$§§###                                          ###§§$†«,.