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.