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.