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.