Finding Mighty

by Sheela Chari

  One glance and I could tell she and Peter knew each other all over again.

  Rose reached out to him, her weathered hands extending across the cement steps.

  “Peter,” she said.

  Finding Mighty is a modern mystery that brings diamonds, parkour, graffiti, yoga, and trivia about the old waterworks system of New York City all to the historic village of Dobbs Ferry, New York. Here’s a list to separate some facts from fiction.

  George Washington and his soldiers camped in Dobbs Ferry: TRUE

  During July and August of 1781, General George Washington and his Continental Army troops really did camp in Dobbs Ferry and the neighboring area. From there, Washington and his soldiers would continue their revolutionary march to Virginia and victory.

  The Keeper’s House is real: TRUE

  Built in 1845 in Dobbs Ferry, the Keeper’s House was one of the houses provided for the Keepers of the Croton Aqueduct. Following renovations, today the Keeper’s House is both a designated landmark and a visitors’ center for the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct (FOCA).

  The High Bridge is the oldest standing bridge in New York City: TRUE

  The High Bridge was completed in 1847 and is older than the George Washington and Brooklyn bridges. After a period of disrepair, it was reopened to the public in 2015 following its restoration.

  Parkour is only meant for doing dangerous stunts: FALSE

  It’s not all about jumping off buildings! Parkour is an urban sport used for flexibility and fitness training. Charles Moreland, a parkour trainer, explains in his TED talk that parkour is a sport suitable for all ages and abilities. He goes further to say that parkour is a way to overcome your obstacles, physical and mental, and learn how to move efficiently through your environment.

  The Diamond District is a real place: TRUE

  The Diamond District is located on West Forty-Seventh Street in Manhattan and is one of the world’s largest shopping districts for the buying, selling, and cutting of diamonds.

  St. Vincent Avenue is a real street in Yonkers: FALSE

  Yonkers is the largest and one of the most culturally diverse cities in Westchester County, New York. But if you’re looking, you won’t find St. Vincent Avenue. The street is a fictional one where strange and mysterious events happen. Similarly, Cherry Street, where Myla and Peter live in Dobbs Ferry, is a made-up street where equally strange and mysterious events take place.

  There is permanent art installed at the Dobbs Ferry Train Station: TRUE

  At this station, you won’t spot an Om tag that Randall painted one moonless night. Instead, you’ll see on the wall the lovely floral mosaic: Floating Auriculas. This permanent public art was commissioned by the Metro Transit Authority Arts for Transit, and created by Nancy Blum in 2007.

  Om is an important sound in yoga: TRUE

  Om is a sacred syllable appearing at the beginning and end of Sanskrit prayers and texts. It is widely used in yoga as a way to attune your body and mind, and turn your attention inward.

  You can find Om tags around New York City: FALSE

  The Om tags painted by Omar, then later by his son Randall are fictional. But if you drive on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Westchester County, you might see Omar tags along the highway walls and on the backs of signs. I don’t know the real story behind those tags. Finding Mighty is the one I imagine in its place.

  Just like the many elements running through the lives of Myla, Peter, and Randall, this book came into being by the love and immeasurable importance of so many people.

  I thank my beloved family, Suresh, Keerthana, and Meera, for holding me up and leading me forward, for listening to all my absurd story lines, and most of all, for building me a room of my own. I thank my parents as always, for being the first to send me out into the world as a writer.

  Thanks to my superman agent, Steven Malk, who saw the potential of this story in its earliest stages, and who helped me chisel away at this “rough” until I was left with a book that shines. This book could never have existed without him.

  Many thanks to Courtney Code, Erica Finkel, Pamela Notarantonio, and the rest of the Abrams team for helping my book reach its final form; and especially to Susan Van Metre, my fearless editor, who is just like Myla: curious, bighearted, and the truest reader of words. One of my happiest book moments was spending an afternoon with Susan in Dobbs Ferry, talking about characters and ideas, and soaking up in person the world of my novel.

  A huge thanks to R. Kikuo Johnson, who brilliantly conceived the world of my story on the jacket cover. If you look, you will see everything there. And thank you to my friend, Meena V., for being our brave and beautiful cover model.

  A big thank-you to the Friends of the Croton Aqueduct (FOCA), Mavis Cain, its president, and the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society for all their valuable information, resources, and tours. And thank you to Springhurst Elementary School for inviting me to speak to your fourth graders. They gave me some of the best ideas about landmarks and interesting buildings in Dobbs Ferry!

  I’m also grateful for the Museum of the City of New York’s “City as a Canvas” exhibition on graffiti, the entertaining and meticulous YouTube tutorials on parkour by Jesse La Flair, and all the fascinating information I garnered on diamonds and roughs by Diamond Expert Person who wishes to remain unnamed.

  Special thanks to Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich for critiquing the manuscript when it was completed, and to Jacklyn Dolamore, April Henry, Anne Marie Pace, and Melodye Shore for reading earlier drafts.

  And last but not least, I’d like to express my gratitude for my indomitable writing group: Sayantani DasGupta, Veera Hiranandani, and Heather Tomlinson. They read draft after draft after draft! Eternal thanks to them for reading and improving my work, month by month, year by year, and for keeping me on the path of writing.

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