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.