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.