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.