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.