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.