The Zombie Who Loved Baseball

Timmy loved summer days. He loved playing **baseball** in his backyard with his friends. But one hot afternoon, something strange happened.

Timmy was rounding the bases, **running** as fast as he could, when he spotted something peculiar near the garden pond. A green-skinned boy with patchy clothes stood there, watching quietly. It was a **zombie**—but not the scary kind from movies. This zombie looked sad and lonely.

"Hello," Timmy said, stopping to catch his breath. "I'm Timmy. What's your name?"

"Zzz-Zack," the zombie mumbled softly. "I used to play baseball too. Before... well, before."

Timmy's pet **goldfish**, Goldie, splashed in her bowl on the porch. She was no ordinary fish—Timmy had discovered she could make magic things happen when she was happy. And right now, Goldie was doing joyful flip-flops!

"You want to play?" Timmy asked.

Zack's eyes lit up. "Really? But I'm all slow and creaky..."

"That doesn't matter! Baseball is about fun!" Timmy grabbed his bat. "Let's play!"

But Zack hesitated. "The **water** in your pond... it looks so cool. My joints ache in the heat."

Goldie splashed again, and suddenly—magical sparkles danced across the **water**! When Zack stepped in, his creaky joints smoothed out. He could move freely!

"Amazing!" Zack cheered. They played baseball until sunset, laughing and hitting home runs together.

Timmy learned something important that day: friends come in all shapes and sizes. And sometimes, the most unexpected friendships become the best ones of all.

That night, Goldie did one last happy flip-flop. She knew she'd helped make two friends very happy.