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.