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.