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.