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.