The Zombie Who Loved Baseball

Under the swaying **palm** tree, young Mia discovered something strange hiding behind the trunk. It looked like a **zombie**—green skin, messy hair, tattered clothes—but instead of running away, she noticed he was crying.

"What's wrong?" she asked bravely.

"Everyone runs away from me," the zombie sniffled. "I just want to play."

Mia's favorite **baseball** rolled toward him. Her team had left her behind again. "Want to play with me?"

The zombie's eyes lit up like stars. "I've never played before!"

Mia's teddy **bear**, Mr. Cuddles, watched from his spot on the bench as Mia taught her new friend how to throw and catch. They played until sunset painted the sky **orange**.

"You're really good!" Mia cheered when the zombie hit his first home run.

"I'm not scary at all, am I?" the zombie smiled, his green face beaming with joy.

"You're the best teammate I've ever had!" Mia said.

From that day on, nobody ran away from the zombie anymore. Because Mia had looked past his scary appearance and discovered something wonderful: kindness doesn't have a face, friendship doesn't judge by looks, and sometimes the most unexpected friends become the most important ones.

And every afternoon, under the same palm tree, you could find them—the girl, the zombie, the teddy bear, and a baseball—proving that magic happens when you open your heart to someone different.