The Zombie Who Loved Padel

Lila and Tomas were best friends who loved adventures. Every Saturday, they would grab their padel rackets and rush to the park courts near their house. Padel was their favorite game—like tennis, but with walls you could bounce the ball off!

One sunny morning, something magical happened. As they were running toward the courts, they spotted a strange figure shuffling slowly behind the papaya tree by the entrance. It had green skin, messy hair, and was moving in a funny, stiff way.

"Is that... a zombie?" whispered Tomas, his eyes wide.

The zombie stepped out from behind the papaya tree. But instead of looking scary, the zombie looked sad. And in its hand, it carried a very old, dusty padel racket.

"Hello," said Lila bravely. "Do you want to play?"

The zombie's face lit up. It nodded enthusiastically!

"I'm Zara," the zombie said in a raspy but friendly voice. "I've been watching you play for weeks. I used to be the padel champion of my village, but... well, becoming a zombie made everyone afraid of me. They wouldn't let me play anymore."

Tomas felt bad. "That's not fair. Just because someone looks different doesn't mean they can't have fun."

"Exactly!" said Lila. "Want to join us?"

Zara's grin stretched from ear to ear. They played padel all morning—Zara was amazing! She could hit the ball so it bounced off three walls before dropping. She taught them special tricks, and they taught her how to laugh again.

When they took a break, Lila remembered something. She ran to her backpack and pulled out a bright orange papaya she'd brought for a snack.

"Want some?" she asked, slicing it open.

Zara had never tasted papaya before. Her eyes sparkled as she took a bite. "It tastes like sunshine!"

From that day on, the zombie Zara became their permanent padel partner. The other kids in the park were scared at first, but soon they saw how kind and funny Zara was. Sometimes, she even let them win.

Lila and Tomas learned something important that day: true friendship isn't about how someone looks—it's about kindness, shared fun, and being brave enough to give everyone a chance. And sometimes, the most unlikely friends make the best teammates of all.