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.