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.