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.