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.