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.