The Zombie Who Loved Rain

Maya was playing by the stream when she heard the strange sound. *Creak. Groan. Shuffle.* She looked up and gasped. Standing there was a greenish figure with messy hair and tattered clothes—a zombie! But this zombie wasn't scary. He looked sad.

Maya's cat, Mitten, jumped onto a rock and hissed. But then something magical happened. The zombie reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny, perfect *water* lily. He held it out to Mitten.

"For you," he said in a scratchy whisper. Mitten stopped hissing and sniffed the flower. The cat started *running* in excited circles around the zombie's feet.

"I'm not really a zombie," the creature explained. "I'm Bramble, and I've been under a spell for 100 years. I could only wake up during storms."

Suddenly, the sky darkened. *CRACK!* A bolt of *lightning* split the sky, but instead of being scary, it sparkled with rainbow colors. The lightning hit Bramble, but he didn't get hurt. Instead, his green skin turned pink and healthy, his messy hair became neat, and his tattered clothes transformed into a beautiful blue outfit.

"The spell is broken!" Bramble cheered, spinning around. "Thank you for not being afraid of me."

Maya realized something important: sometimes things that seem scary are just lonely and need a friend. She invited Bramble to play, and he showed them how to skip stones across the water. Mitten curled up in Bramble's lap, purring loudly.

From that day on, whenever it rained, Maya and Mitten would visit Bramble. And whenever someone in town mentioned the scary zombie in the woods, Maya would smile and say, "You mean Bramble? He's not scary at all. He's our friend."

Because Maya learned that the bravest thing you can do is give someone a chance—even if they look a little different than everyone else.