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.