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.