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.