The Magic Padel Court

Lily loved playing padel in her backyard with her golden retriever, Buster. The paddle made a satisfying *thwack* every time she hit the ball against the wall. Buster would chase it, barking joyfully, his tail wagging like a helicopter.

One afternoon, the ball bounced over the old wooden fence into the mysterious yard next door. Lily had never seen anyone come or go from there. The grass grew wild and tall.

"Stay here, Buster," she whispered, crawling through a loose board in the fence.

On the other side, she found a boy sitting alone in the dirt. His face was painted green with purple circles under his eyes. He looked like a zombie!

Lily gasped. "Are you... okay?"

The boy's face lit up. "I'm practicing! I'm going to be a zombie in the school play. But I don't have anyone to practice with."

"I'm Lily! And I'll help you!" she said. "This is my friend Buster — he's great at playing zombie dogs."

Buster trotted through the fence and immediately flopped onto his back, tongue hanging out, playing dead perfectly.

The boy laughed. "I'm Leo. Want to play padel zombie tag?"

They played until sunset, pretending the padel ball was a magical zombie-transforming orb. Whoever got hit had to shuffle and groan like a zombie for one minute. Buster chased them both, barking at the "undead."

"Best friends make the best zombies," Leo said as the sky turned purple.

"And best friends make everything magical," Lily replied.

Every day after school, Lily and Buster returned to Leo's yard. The zombie that had seemed so scary was really just a lonely boy waiting for a friend. Sometimes the most magical adventures happen when you're brave enough to say hello.