The Zombie Who Loved Goldfish

Emma pressed her nose against the glass bowl, watching her goldfish, Bubbles, swim in lazy circles. The orange fish had been her birthday present last week, and already Emma loved him more than chocolate ice cream.

"Time for your walk, Emma!" Mom called from downstairs.

Emma grabbed her leash and her terrier, Buster, came bounding down the hall, his tail wagging like a metronome on fast-forward. But as soon as they stepped outside, Buster started pulling hard toward the woods behind their house.

"Buster, no!" Emma tugged, but the dog wouldn't listen. He was running so fast that Emma had to run too, her sneakers pounding against the dirt path. Leaves crunched beneath her feet as they went deeper into the forest until Emma spotted something strange.

A small house made of twisted branches sat beside a trickling stream. And sitting on a mossy rock was... a zombie.

Emma froze. But this zombie didn't look like the ones from cartoons. He had green skin, yes, and stitches on his forehead, but he was wearing a silly polka-dot hat and crying.

"What's wrong?" Emma whispered, stepping closer.

The zombie looked up with sad purple eyes. "My goldfish won't wake up," he sniffled, pointing to a tiny pond. Floating there was a little gold fish, not moving.

Emma knelt by the water. "Bubbles did that last week," she said softly. "My mom said he was sleeping, but then he got better after I sang to him."

"You think singing will help?" The zombie's face lit up. "But I don't know any songs!"

Emma smiled. "I'll teach you. And Buster can help."

For an hour, Emma, Buster, and the zombie — whose name was Mumble — sat by the water. Emma taught Mumble a silly song about dancing fish, while Buster barked along to the rhythm. To their amazement, the goldfish began to wiggle its fins, then slowly swam upward.

"You did it!" Mumble cheered, hugging Emma so gently that she almost forgot he was a zombie. "You're my best friend!"

That day, Emma learned something important: sometimes the scariest-looking people have the biggest hearts. And every afternoon, you could find Emma, Buster, and Mumble by the stream, singing to goldfish and proving that friendship can bloom anywhere — even in a zombie's garden.