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does somebody wish bad luck on Neela?” Sree asked.
    Good question, Neela thought. Because it felt like a ton of bad luck had been dumped on her.
    Mrs. Krishnan pushed the hair out of his eyes. “Sometimes we want what others have. We want them not to succeed. But I do think you can change bad luck and hope for the best.”
    Sree still didn’t understand. “Why?”
    â€œMaybe you can ask Lalitha Patti if we visit her in December.”
    â€œAre we going to India?” he asked.
    â€œAre we?” Neela asked. She felt a glimmer of hope despite herself. Her best friend, Pavi, also had family in Chennai and always went there in December. Maybe Neela would get to see her if they went at the same time. Which would be good since Neela wasn’t sure how Lalitha Patti would react to being around the grandchild who had lost her veena.
    â€œI’d rather go in June,” Mrs. Krishnan said, “but I may need to finish up my classes in the summer.”
    â€œSo you can help people take their medicine?” Sree asked. This was his rough understanding of what pharmacy was all about.
    â€œYes, Sree.”
    As Mrs. Krishnan cleaned off the brass plate, Neela thought of all the people who could wish her bad luck. Amanda? Hal? Or was it someone else she didn’t know?

    That night, Neela had a hard time falling asleep. She kept thinking of Hal and the missing veena, and what her grandmother would say when she found out the awful truth. She remembered that on her visits to India, Lalitha Patti would take the veena out only on certain days, as if it was too special to use daily. And when she did, she would practice on it for hours and talk to no one. Why her grandmother would then send such a special instrument to Neela, it was hard to say. But she had, and now Neela felt that in the biggest and most terrible way, she had let her grandmother down. Was it bad luck, as her mother said? Neela wasn’t sure. But her only hope was to find the veena before her grandmother heard what happened.
    Neela got up from bed. The floor was cold under her feet as she made her way quietly down the hall. She would ask her mother if they could go back to the stone church tomorrow after school. They could have another look around. Maybe Neela had missed something the first time.
    As she got closer to her parents’ bedroom, she heard voices inside. She was about to knock on the door, when she heard her father speaking in Tamil. From the way he kept starting and stopping, she could tell he was on the phone.
    He’s talking to Lalitha Patti . Neela’s stomach dropped in dismay. She had thought he would wait at least until tomorrow.
    â€œPlease don’t worry, Amma ,” Mr. Krishnan said, using the name for mother in Tamil. He repeated this many times. At last he said, “We’ll find the veena. I’m sure of it.”
    How he could be sure, Neela didn’t know. He was just trying to make her grandmother feel better. Maybe she was really upset on the other side. Even crying. Neela felt tears rise in her own throat.
    Mr. Krishnan gave a sigh that was so loud, even Neela could hear it through the door. “That’s just a story, Amma. It couldn’t possibly be true.”
    Neela swallowed her tears. What was he talking about? She heard her mother murmur something, but Neela couldn’t make it out.
    Then, as if he’d heard enough, Mr. Krishnan said, “All right, all right. Let me call you tomorrow. Maybe we’ll find the veena by then, and you can forget about all of that.”
    All of what? Neela waited for her father to hang up. Maybe he and her mother would say something more afterward.
    She was right. When the phone call was over, her mother was the one who started.
    â€œI still can’t believe she would send that veena to Neela,” she said.
    â€œShe got spooked.”
    â€œThen she should have sold it, that’s what.”
    â€œYou can’t