As Robert came out he was met with rapturous applause from everyone gathered outside. Police sirens blared as they tried to control the crowd, but no matter how hard they tried, the people who had taken over the roads and caused standstill traffic were not going anywhere.

  “Ma’am, please move your car along,” the officer asked politely. The middle-aged woman sitting on the hood of her car took one look at the officer and shook her head.

  “The people need to see this. It’s not every day we have a global hotshot inventor transcending science. This is history. This is the future for the kids that look like me. The next generation needs to see we’re supporting greatness, officer. So if you don’t mind, can you just walk on and leave me alone,” said the old lady.

  The officers knew they were fighting a losing battle. A monumental event like this only came along once in a lifetime. Creativity in the world was on the decline—what was once transcendent technology or creations seemed to slow down, and over the last few years it seemed to have come to a dead stop. Crime rates were up, school grades were down, and teachers struggled to motivate the kids who just wanted to be the next social media superstar.

  But what Robert did for his community—his city and the people around the world—was show them that there were no limits to what the mind was capable of doing if you just believe.

  As he looked into the crowd he felt like a small fish in a big ocean. He was expecting a large turnout, but nothing like this. Hundreds of people filled the streets, locking eyes with him, their nods ones of gratitude and appreciation for what he had done. He could feel the occasion was now bigger than him as he approached the mic.

  He stepped up to the podium, his hands brushing the edge as he leaned toward the microphone. He cleared his throat, coughing twice.

  “Thank you all for attending, it means more to me than you know.”

  Far back in the hundreds gathered that blocked off the road, a woman’s voice rang out loud above all others, strong and heartfelt.

  “No—thank you, Robert!”

  His head dropped and his lips curved into a bright smile.

  “Man, already? I promised that when I got out here I wasn’t going to cry. That didn’t last long, did it.”

  He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked out into the crowd, trying to find the lady that thanked him.

  “I’m sorry I can’t find you, but to the lady that thanked me—I appreciate you,” he said with his heart full, his voice carrying love and appreciation.

  As he looked further, he quickly noticed it wasn’t just journalists, scientists, adults and influencers in the crowd—there were children there, their eyes burning with the same fire his did when he was a child.

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  “Before I start, I want to thank my family, because without them I wouldn’t be here today.”

  He lifted the mic from the stand that was holding it in place and walked to the edge of the makeshift stage, taking a seat on the edge.

  “I’m not going to be all professional with you and give you the cookie-cutter generic answers that everyone else would give if they were up on this stage today.”

  He took in a deep breath before continuing.

  “As I look into a lot of your eyes I see the flame lit in them—the same passion and hunger that burned in mine.”

  His eyes traveled across the entire crowd, making sure they saw the seriousness in his eyes.

  “You see, I would love to tell you that this path will be easy—but I’d be lying. This path consists of sleepless nights, doubtful mornings, and a lot of rejection.”

  He hopped down off the stage and went right up to the crowd, walking up and down as he spoke.

  “But you see, my mother and my father were there to pour gasoline all over my dreams igniting them to heights not even I thought were possible.”

  He paused for a moment closing his eyes, wagging his finger as he continued to walk up and down.

  “But even with the brightest burning flame, there are always people out there ready to douse your flame in order to make themselves feel better. There will be people that don’t get your idea—they won’t see your vision—but I do—we do,” he said as he pointed back towards the college.

  “That is why I partnered with Raven’s Wood College—to give the next aspiring scientist like me an opportunity to shine. Opportunities where their parents don’t have to sacrifice their lives by working so much they have to either pick between having a beautiful family life or their children’s dream.”

  He paused, opening his eyes and taking in the moment as he reflected on times growing up.

  “My mother and father were the best parents a boy could ever ask for. My dad worked nights and when he came home my mother was straight out the door. Monday to Sunday they worked like slaves so I could get out of my deprived area and live my dream.

  They sacrificed their marriage—their lives—so a little old boy from the slums could be standing in front of you now, paying it forward.”

  The crowd erupted into applause but he wasn’t finished. He lifted up his hand and signaled to the crowd he wasn’t done.

  The claps got slower, and the noise slowly quieted down from the front of the crowd to the back.

  “My final message to everyone here, because greatness does not have an age limit—it’s never too late to achieve the greatness you are destined for.

  I’m finished now,” he laughed.

  The crowd erupted into applause again. Mothers and fathers were in tears as they serenaded him with applause.

  He lifted the microphone.

  “And last but not least, Grammy-nominated rapper A$AP Ferg.”

  A$AP Ferg’s music sounded and he popped out topless in Timberlands, his long braids swinging as he jumped onto the stage.

  “Before we get started I just want to shout out and send mad love Robert’s way—a true inspiration to me and to the people.”

  Robert nodded his head as A$AP Ferg reached over and shook his hand.

  “New York! Is everyone ready to get lit in here,” A$AP Ferg shouted down the mic, hyped up.

  The crowd screamed and cheered, pulling out their phones as A$AP Ferg performed his album of the year, Pain Through the Looking Glass.

  The speech had gone perfectly. He spoke from the heart, inspired the crowd, and even had Grammy-nominated rapper A$AP Ferg come out to perform.

  But in this city, when did anything ever go to plan?

  He blew kisses to his wife Nicole, who playfully caught them and pressed them against her chest.

  Then as he turned around—

  he froze.

  His eyes widened in horror, his breath caught in his chest as his heart dropped—there he was, lingering in the shadows as if he had never left.