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.