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.