The Zombie Who Loved Baseball

Max loved baseball more than anything. Every afternoon, he'd grab his favorite orange glove and run to the park, hoping someone would play catch with him.

One day, a strange figure shuffled out from behind the old oak tree. It was green and lumpy, with stitched-up clothes and crazy hair. A zombie!

Max's dog, Buster, started barking wildly. But instead of running away, Max stood his ground.

"Hi," said Max.

The zombie looked surprised. "Hi," it croaked back. Then it pointed at Max's baseball. "Play?"

The zombie's name was Zed, and he wasn't scary at all. He just wanted a friend. Zed had lived in the old graveyard for years, watching kids play ball from behind the fence.

"Can you really play?" Max asked.

Zed nodded. He threw the ball—straight and perfect! Max couldn't believe it. They played catch until the sun began to set, painting the sky in beautiful shades of orange and pink.

"Tomorrow?" Zed asked hopefully.

"Every tomorrow," Max promised.

From that day on, Max and Zed were best friends. They formed a team with Buster as their mascot, and soon other kids joined too. Nobody cared that Zed was different. They just loved that he was kind, fun, and amazing at baseball.

Max learned something important that summer: sometimes the scariest-looking people make the best friends. You just have to be brave enough to say hello.