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.