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.