Was It All a Fairy Tale?
Continuing the journey into the mysterious Earth For children and curious minds of all ages Yogendra Deva The story lay open on the laptop screen. “Ocean to Us — The Earth Comes Alive.” Mihir had read it twice. “Aaba.” “Yes?” “Are you absolutely sure?” “About what?” “All this.” Mihir waved at the pages. “Three billion years. Two billion years. Millions of years. Fossils. Layers. Clocks inside rocks.” He narrowed his eyes. “How do you know it’s not just a very grand fairy tale?” Aaba did not answer immediately. He leaned back. “That,” he said quietly, “is the right question.” “You weren’t there,” Mihir continued confidently. “None of you were there.” “No,” Aaba agreed. “Then how can you talk about 3.5 billion years ago like you saw it yesterday?” Aaba smiled. “Because we do not rely on memory.” “Then what?” “Clues. The Earth keeps records—we just learn how to read them.” Aaba picked up a small stone from the table. “Imagine this rock,” he said. “If it is sedimentary, it formed ...