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.