The Way the Light Bends

by Cordelia Jensen

  I click past that

  to all the ways

  the moments with him

  all the choices I made

  even if they weren’t always the right thing

  led me to this moment

  scampering

  summiting

  with my family.

  We all gather together,

  I take our picture.

  And the shot is perfect.

  ONE LAST FRAME

  HIGH UP, HOLDING

  Two girls in

  Kakum National Park, Ghana.

  Canopy walk through

  the rain forest.

  One at a time.

  In a line.

  Taking turns

  leading

  and following.

  High up.

  Holding the ropes.

  Parents down below

  waving.

  Two sisters above

  laughing

  soaring

  yelping

  swinging free.

  Linc & Holly

  Holly & Linc

  suspended

  by trees

  and light.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This story has been a shape-shifter.

  Thank you to Sara Crowe for believing in it ever since its first form. And then advocating for it through every metamorphosis.

  A million thank-yous to Liza Kaplan for being a word sculptor and giving this story the shape that fit it best. Linc became a braver character because of you. And I became a braver writer. Thank you to the entire Philomel/Penguin Young Readers team for all the work you do to birth books. Thank you specifically to Talia Benamy, Michael Green, Kristin Boyle, Jenny Chung, Nicole Wayland, Laurel Robinson and Kaitlyn Kneafsey for all their time, effort and dedication. You are all magicians. I appreciate you.

  Thank you to my photographer mother, Mariette Pathy Allen, who taught me to play and experiment in invisible worlds. And then make them visible. Thank you also for being an expert reader.

  Thank you to Sarah Zwerling, photographer extraordinaire, for graciously reading the book and providing feedback.

  Thank you to Sarah Hannah Gómez and Dhonielle Clayton for being sensitivity readers. I am humbled by all your suggestions, and I cannot thank either of you enough. Thank you for being willing to teach me.

  Thank you to Linda Washington for reading early on and giving me some invaluable feedback.

  Laurie Morrison, thank you for reading this a few times and giving me all your expert advice. You are one of the smartest people I have ever met.

  Laura Sibson, thank you also for reading and for your loyal, true friendship.

  Immense thanks to Diana Wall of the Seneca Village Project for being an expert reader. I would never have known about the park’s incredible history if it hadn’t been for your work. For more on their project, see: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/seneca_village/.

  Thank you to the Central Park Conservancy for their information on Seneca Village as well.

  I am thankful for the time I spent in Ghana many years ago, for the families that showed me love and warmth and for the friends I made there.

  To my Philly community, thanks to so many of you for always asking so much about my writing and for being incredibly supportive and thoughtful friends to me and my whole family.

  Thank you to my own sister, Julia; our relationship has fluctuated in closeness and distance, but the love and devotion has never changed. Being a sister is one of my favorite things to be.

  Thank you to Jon, Tate and Lily, who listen to me talk about my story ideas and about my days of writing with kind eyes, supportive ears and open hearts. Every day, I am grateful to be a member of our family.

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