elves live in the land       
     beyond the great dam.        
   it  was  built in the late sixties.  
     the elves came  to us then.    
                      
                      
 they  were  very  manipulative,  and  we 
 came to  trust them.          us 
 kids would  play down  at the water even 
 though we were not allowed.        
    sometimes  the  sluice would  close 
 entirely,  and  the  river at  the  dams 
 foot would dry  up,  revealing the rocky 
 water  garden  that   had  been   hidden 
 beneath, and we would go there.      
         before the dam opened again, 
 there would be  a signal,  but the elves 
 would make us not hear  it, and suddenly 
 we would  find the water rising, already 
 at our knees.                
                      
   by then  the elves  would be  gone.