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.