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They’ll be able to make money for their families.’
    Kelsey lay on the couch with the laptop. Mrs Penner had downloaded some ebooks for her to study. She was reading one about a girl who disappeared into paintings on the wall to save her family in the past.
    After a while Kelsey could hear her father outside thanking Izaak in Urdu. She put the laptop aside and managed to walk to the open doorway. ‘Dad.’
    â€˜ Salaam ji , miss,’ Izaak said. His eyes were bright and watery when he looked at her.
    â€˜ Salaam ji , Izaak.’ Kelsey said it as well as Shakila now. Izaak touched the top of her head as a blessing.
    â€˜How is Raza?’ she asked.
    Izaak tilted his head, but remained quiet.
    Dad answered instead. ‘He’s sick like you, Kels, though much worse.’



J ust before dinner Kelsey rang Nanna Rose.
    â€˜Nanna,’ she cried when Nanna Rose’s face appeared. ‘Raza fell in the river and now he’s sick.’
    Her father knelt beside Kelsey to see Nanna Rose as well. ‘Actually Mum, it was Kels who pulled Raza out. Now she has a nasty bug too.’
    â€˜I’ll pray you both get better quickly,’ Nanna Rose said.
    Kelsey nodded, thinking she should tell her class in Australia about Raza. They might be able to help.
    Then Nanna Rose said, ‘I’m running out of names for the story, Kels. What’s your favourite Pakistani name?’
    Kelsey didn’t have to think twice. ‘Shakila. She’s my friend.’
    Amy Jo sat on the shelf watching all the people pass by. This shop was very different from the Teddy Bear Shop. There was no glass and the shop was open so she could see the lane where everyone hurried and jostled about. She saw ladies in shawls with babies and children, and men with turbans wrapped around their heads. Lots of children stopped to stare at her. The old man didn’t tell them to move away. He kept sewing clothes. Some children even pointed at her. But none of them looked as if they had enough money to buy her. So here she was again – on a shelf, waiting. At least the man loved her. He spoke to her each morning when he came to work.
    â€˜So my princess, did you have a good sleep?’
    Amy Jo blinked at him.
    He smiled and she saw the gaps where he used to have teeth. ‘I’m glad I have you for company – I was getting lonely.’ He sighed as he sat cross-legged in front of his sewing machine. Amy Jo watched the back of his head and wondered who he was making clothes for today.
    It was almost time to close the shop when a man and a girl walked by.
    â€˜Wait, Abu .’ The girl stepped backward. ‘Look at the gudiya on the tailor’s shelf. She looks like a Bollywood actress in that shalwar qameez , ready to dance. She would make a first-class gift.’
    â€˜Shakila, this is a Western doll. It will be too expensive.’
    â€˜And how much has been given back to us?’
    The man was silent a moment. ‘You are right, beti, my daughter.’
    He stood in front of the old man’s shop. ‘ Janab , for how much will you sell the doll?’
    The old man saw how the girl waited for his answer. ‘Fifty rupees .’
    The father and his daughter exchanged a glance. ‘Are you jesting, janab ?’ asked the father. ‘I thought you would say five hundred.’
    The old man smiled. ‘I was going to keep her for myself, but I see you have more need of her.’ He slowly reached for Amy Jo.
    Amy Jo liked the look of the girl. She seemed kind.
    â€˜Shall I wrap her?’ the old man asked as he put Amy Jo’s old dress in a little paper bag to keep with her.
    â€˜Yes,’ the father answered. ‘She is to be a special gift.’



K elsey was sick for nearly two weeks. She hated taking the medicine. It made her head feel like it was splitting. Once the medicine was finished she felt better but she was so weak she wouldn’t be able to