[center][h2]To Sow Hope[/h2]
[i]Prologue[/i]
[sub]A Mavericks derived Story[/sub][/center]

[b]Apprx 20 Hours Prior to the New Lilith Space Sendoff Parade[/b]

     Frances Kindt typically didn’t work Friday through Saturday. Once he hit his 25-year mark, the custodial department head offered him the option to opt-in for a paid day off, so he chose to apply it to Friday’s. Only caveat was he couldn’t use those days if it was one of their “all-hands-on-deck” weeks and weekends. Festivals, parades and such. Working New Lilith’s municipal district— and for City Hall no less— those happened more frequently than he wanted. But the pay for the municipal district was good, and they treated him well, at least like a person, for the most part. 

     So here he was, sweeping the steps of city hall in the dimming dusk. Because he was smart. He knew he couldn’t get his typical 3-dayer this weekend—either today or tomorrow off along with his Sunday. So, he traded his Saturday shift with one of the young guys who just had to go to the launch of that new techno-house-EDM-doohickey club downtown—[i]Synfulesque[/i]. Once he finished loading new bags in the bins (making sure to stow two extras underneath, just in case), Kindt would be finished for the day. Where most of the crew had to work the parade tomorrow, Kindt was going to be in attendance, celebrating, for once. Not cleaning up the aftermath of celebration.

     Frances leaned on his broom for a moment, looking down the steps toward Main Street below him. The dusk in the sky was giving way to the deep blue of night, and streetlights sprung to life across the wide street. His grandson, Jarrod was in town and Frances hadn’t seen the tyke since he was 3. And now his grandson was a whopping 7 years old. Loved all the tech stuff, and gadgets galore. But mostly, the kid just loved figuring things out. Frances was getting the chance to watch him until Tuesday while his daughter in law, Jarrod’s mom, went to a work retreat.

     The parade tomorrow was a celebration of one of New Lilith’s own embarking on his first voyage into space. Frances knew that would be the perfect surprise for Jarrod, seeing a whole city of folks celebrating an astronaut. A black astronaut, at that. And he wanted Jarrod to see this, to see faces like his celebrated by a street filled with people. By this time tomorrow, the astronaut Alexander Dumont Latoja would be handed his keys to the city and a medal in the very spot Frances stood: underneath the 5 meter tall statue of a blindfolded woman in a flowing tunic holding scales, and wings sprouting from her back. A gift to the city titled –[i]Ariadne, Winged Justice[/i]. Frances patted her exposed foot. “Hope you got something else to wear tomorrow. People might think you’re just reusing the same outfits for photos,” he joked to himself.