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.