The flat earthers terrified her. She couldn’t fathom how after years of scientific advances, there are still people who believe that the planet that they call home is flat.
One day, while walking home from the train station after a long day at work, she overheard a child talking to her mother. “Mommy, is the Earth round or flat?” The little girl asked. Her mother thought for a moment and said, “The Earth is flat, honey, it’s always been flat.” The little girl’s eyebrows scrunched together, confused about her mother’s response.
“The teacher said that the Earth is round, is the teacher wrong?” She asked, looking up at her mother for clarification. The child’s mother was taken aback as she tried to figure out how to answer her daughter’s question. The young woman couldn’t take it anymore so she walked over to the mother and daughter, a friendly smile on her face.
“Hi, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” she said, the smile still in place as she turned her attention to the little girl. “Your teacher is not wrong, sweetie, the Earth is very much round. Well, it’s technically oval and it’s the gravitational pull that makes it round.” The little girl gave the young woman a toothy smile, glad that her teacher is right.
The young woman then turned to the mother who had a sheepish look on her face, “I do not know why you believe that the Earth is flat,” she said, giving the woman a levelled glare. “but it’s not right to tell children things that are not true.” The young woman sighed as she continued, “Next time, educate yourself before you educate others and make sure that the information is from a credible source and not from some random book put together by people who lived hundreds of years ago.” The mother nodded as she took her daughter’s hand, leading her away toward the train station.
As she watched mother and daughter walk further away, the young woman smiled to herself. “Guess I just did my good deed for the day,” she mused, turning around to walk in the opposite direction. The young woman then took out her headphones and put them in her ears before hitting play on her playlist, letting the music add to her good mood.
Tiffany’s Writing Desk 