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.