........^«                                          «^........
.......^«\                                          \«^.......
......^«\%                                          %\«^......
.....^«\%&                                          &%\«^.....
....^«\%&§                                          §&%\«^....
...^«\%&§#                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?          %\«^......
.......^«\                                          \«^.......
........^«                                          «^........
.........^                                          ^.........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........