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.