The Zombie Who Loved Padel

Lily loved visiting her grandmother's island, especially the secret grove of swaying palm trees near the beach. But the other kids warned her about strange noises coming from there at sunset.

One afternoon, Lily snuck to the grove and heard a thwacking sound—ball hitting racquet, over and over. She peeked behind the largest palm tree and gasped.

A green-skinned zombie with messy hair was playing padel against a wooden backboard! He hit the ball with a bright blue racquet, his movements clumsy but determined. The ball would fly into the palm fronds, and he'd shuffle after it with a happy groan.

"Hi!" Lily waved, stepping out.

The zombie froze, then tried to hide behind his racquet.

"I'm Lily. What's your name?"

"Zzz... Z zim-bie," he mumbled.

"Nice to meet you, Zim! I love padel too! Can I play?"

Zim's eyes widened. No one had ever wanted to play with him before.

They played until sunset, Zim teaching Lily his funny shuffle-dance move to reach hard shots. He wasn't scary at all—he just wanted a friend.

The next day, Lily brought all the neighborhood kids to the palm grove. "This is Zim! He's the best padel player ever!"

At first, some kids hid. But when Zim hit an amazing trick shot and giggled, everyone relaxed. Soon, the whole grove was filled with laughter and thwacking balls.

Zim never felt lonely again. And every evening under the palm trees, the zombie and the children played padel until the stars came out.

Lily learned that sometimes the scariest-looking people just need someone to say, "Want to play?"