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.