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.