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.