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.