In a land far, far away, but not too far to visit, something magical was about to happen! Or so the fairies whispered.
Olivia sat on her bedroom floor in Phoenix, her chin resting on her hand. "Mom, I'm bored," she said with a sigh. "There's nothing to do!"
Mom smiled from the doorway. "What about that book about the beach? Remember, the one with the funny crabs?"
Olivia perked up. "Oh yeah! Can we go to a real beach, Mom? Please?"
Mom chuckled. "Maybe not a real beach, but how about we have a beach day right here?"
Olivia's smile widened. "A beach day at home? How?"
"You'll see," Mom winked, disappearing into the hallway.
Moments later, Mom returned, carrying a big, blue sheet. "This," she declared, spreading it out on the living room floor, "is the ocean!"
Olivia giggled. "It needs water!"
Mom pulled out two spray bottles. "We make our own waves!"
They spent the afternoon spraying each other with water, building sandcastles out of pillows, and pretending to be crabs. Olivia even got to wear her new sunglasses!
As the sun began to set, painting the sky with orange and pink, Olivia noticed something strange in the "ocean." It was wiggling.
"Mom, look!" Olivia pointed.
Right there, on the blue sheet, were three colorful, jiggly blobs!
"What in the…?" Mom gasped.
The blobs bounced towards them, giggling like little kids.
"Greetings!" chirped one of the blobs, a bright, sunny yellow. "We come from Planet Squish. We heard you were having a beach party and wanted to join!"
Olivia gasped. "You're aliens?"
The second blob, a vibrant purple, bounced excitedly. "Extraterrestrial beings, to be precise! We travel the galaxy looking for the best parties."
The third blob, a cool, calming blue, floated gently. "And we heard you have the best cookies on this planet."
Olivia and her mom exchanged wide-eyed looks.
Mom, usually shy, found herself laughing. "Well, you're not wrong about the cookies! Come on in, Squishy friends."
Olivia learned that the Squishy friends loved to dance, tell jokes, and eat cookies, just like her! They spent the rest of the evening playing games and laughing until their bellies hurt.
The yellow blob, whose name was Sunny, nudged Olivia. "You know," he whispered, "you're the very first earthling who wasn't scared of us."
Olivia tilted her head. "Why would I be scared? You're silly and fun!"
Zippy, the purple blob, bounced excitedly. "That's because we're friends!"
And that's how Olivia learned that friendship could be found in the most unexpected places, even with squishy aliens from Planet Squish! As they waved goodbye to their new friends, Olivia knew this was the start of a truly amazing friendship.
