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.