The Zombie Who Forgot How to Smile

Emma loved swimming in her backyard pool, especially on warm summer days. The pool was nestled between two towering palm trees that swayed gently in the breeze. But today, something strange caught her eye.

A little green figure sat on the pool's edge, head in hands. Emma crept closer. It was a zombie!

"Hello?" she whispered.

The zombie looked up. His skin was green, his clothes were tattered, but his eyes were kind. "I'm Zed," he mumbled. "I forgot how to smile."

Emma's grandma had told her about magical lightning storms that sometimes carried special vitamins—vitamins of joy, she called them. They could make anyone happy if they truly believed.

"Maybe I can help," Emma said. "Let's play!"

She showed Zed how to splash in the pool. They laughed as water sprayed everywhere. Zed's frown softened.

Emma held Zed's hand and pressed it against the rough trunk of a palm tree. "Feel this? Trees grow toward the sun. Even when storms come, they keep reaching up."

Suddenly, the sky darkened. A single bolt of magical lightning flashed purple, then pink. Emma had read about this—the lightning vitamins!

"Quick! Catch the magic," she cried, grabbing Zed's hands.

They spun under the purple light, laughing and splashing pool water into the air. The magical vitamins swirled around them like glittering dust.

Zed's eyes widened. His green face brightened. Slowly, his lips curved upward. He was smiling!

"I remember now," Zed cheered. "Friendship is the best vitamin of all!"

From that day on, Zed visited Emma often. They swam in the pool, climbed the palm trees, and danced whenever magical lightning streaked across the sky. Emma had learned something wonderful: sometimes, all someone needs to find their smile again is a friend who believes in magic.