After a long and exhausting week, Sunday had finally arrived — a day of rest and much needed rejuvenation. But for Elizeh, Sunday was more than just a break from work. It was a day when the entire family gathered to spill the tea on the week’s drama and escapades. Most importantly, it was the day Daadi would whisk them away into the world of intrigue through her stories.

“Elizeh! Hurry up, Daadi is about to start!” her sister’s voice echoed with urgency.

Elizeh quickly made her way to the small room at the corner of the entrance, where Daadi sat, surrounded by a circle of eager grandchildren. She found a spot to sit just as Daadi began her story.

 “Sana was a strong-willed, sharp-as-a-tack and fiercely independent girl, yet, despite her brilliance, her classmates often labelled her a ‘nerd’, isolating her from the group. However, Sana didn’t mind much; she already considered her books to be her loyal friends. 

“One day during lunch, naughty Kazim approached Sana. Instantly, Sana’s intuition kicked in that trouble was brewing. Kazim drew closer, snatched her book from her hands and started laughing mockingly. A crowd gathered in no time, with their eyes glued to the unfolding scene. Sana calmly asked for her book back, but Kazim, of course, had other plans.

With a smirk, he challenged her, “Since you’re such a so-called genius, I’ll give your book back if you correctly predict whether or not I’ll return it. But if you fail to guess correctly, the book is mine!”

The crowd was now fully invested and Sana’s mind raced. Her first instinct was to predict that Kazim would return the book, but she realised that this would leave Kazim with two choices: he could give the book back and say she guessed right, or he could keep it and claim she was wrong. Either way, Kazim could twist the outcome in his favour. Sensing a trap, Sana made a clever decision, she predicted that Kazim would not return the book.

Silence enveloped the crowd and Kazim was caught completely off guard. He realised that Sana had cleverly turned the tables on him. If he kept the book, she would win because her prediction would be correct, and if he returned it, she would still win by outsmarting him in front of everyone. Trapped in a paradox, Kazim was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The crowd, sensing his dilemma, began to murmur in excitement. The tension in the air was palpable as Kazim’s face flushed with frustration. Finally, with a reluctant sigh, Kazim extended his hand, returning the book to Sana.”

Daadi finished the story and looked around at the fully tensed faces of her grandchildren and said, “This is known as the ‘crocodile’s dilemma’.”

“But Daadi, where was the crocodile in the story?” Elizeh’s younger sister asked as her curiosity piqued.

“That’s true, dear. There was no crocodile, but the crocodile’s dilemma is an ancient Greek paradox. Now, it’s your turn to unravel its mysteries and dive deeper into the world of paradoxes!”

With that, the story circle came to an end, leaving Elizeh wondering what other secrets and surprises the crocodile’s dilemma might be holding.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 7th, 2024