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.