The Zombie Who Forgot How to Scare
In a closet as dusty as moonlight lived Zomb, the little zombie boy. But Zomb had a problem. He'd forgotten how to scare!
"ROAR?" he tried, but it came out like a kitten's sneeze. His hands wiggled like noodles instead of creeping claws. Even his moan sounded more like a hum.
One day, while Zomb shuffled sadly through the garden, he spotted a goldfish named Glub swimming in a tiny bowl. Glub's orange scales sparkled like tiny suns.
"You look squishy," said Zomb. "I'm supposed to be scary, but I'm not."
Glub swam closer. "Maybe you need something special. My grandmother told me about Magic Vitamins that grow on the moonflowers. They make ordinary things extraordinary!"
"Vitamins?" Zomb's green eyes widened. "Do they make zombies scary?"
"Maybe," Glub bubbled. "Or maybe they make you exactly who you're supposed to be. Want to be friends and find them?"
Zomb had never had a friend before. His heart did a little flip-flop.
Together they climbed the moonflower vine that stretched up past the stars. The silver petals glowed like lanterns. There, nestled in each flower, grew a glowing Vitamin—each one a different color, humming with magic.
Zomb ate a purple one. *POP!* Suddenly, he didn't feel scary at all. Instead, he felt... wonderful! He could make flowers bloom with his footsteps. His moan became music that made stars dance.
"You're not scary," Glub said with a grin. "You're magical!"
Other children gathered around, amazed by Zumb's dancing flowers and starry songs. They laughed and played. Zomb had never been happier.
"I thought I needed to be scary to matter," Zomb told Glub later. "But I just needed to find the right Vitamin—and the right friend."
"Sometimes," said Glub, "the most extraordinary thing about you is something you never knew was magic."
And that's how the zombie who couldn't scare became the zombie who could make the whole world smile—especially his goldfish friend, who swam in a special bowl beside Zomb's bed, filled with moonflowers that glowed purple every night.