Milo raced into the sunny park, holding his red ball high. “Who wants to play?” he called.
No one answered. A swing squeaked in the empty playground, and Milo let the ball drop.
Milo followed the winding paths. He peeked behind the big old friendship tree and called, “Hello?”
Near the tree, a quiet child sat alone, drawing circles in the dirt. Milo watched and gripped the ball.
Milo rolled the ball toward the quiet child. The stick tapped it back—bonk!—and the ball bumped Milo’s shoe.
Milo smiled. “Again?” The quiet child nodded and placed the stick beside the path.
Beside the tree, they made a game: roll, tap, chase! The ball shot into a bush.
They crawled into the bush after it. Then they popped out wearing leaves like silly hats.
Milo held out the ball. The quiet child held out the stick. Together, they raced down the sunny path.
“Hello, friend!” Milo called. The quiet child laughed and rolled the ball back.