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.