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.