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.