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.