The Zombie Who Loved to Swim

Leo loved swimming more than anything in the world. Every summer day, he'd dive into the cool blue water of Crystal Lake, pretending he was a deep-sea explorer discovering hidden treasures.

One afternoon, dark clouds gathered overhead. Thunder rumbled like a hungry tummy, and suddenly—FLASH! A bolt of lightning struck the middle of the lake.

Leo wasn't scared. He was curious. So when the storm passed and the water turned calm again, he swam toward the spot where the lightning had hit.

That's when he saw it.

Green and glowing, something floated just beneath the surface. Leo held his breath and dove deeper. There, tangled in a patch of seaweed, was a little zombie!

But this wasn't a scary zombie like in movies. He had bright purple eyes, a friendly smile, and wore a tiny pirate hat.

"Hello!" the zombie bubbled. "I'm Zed!"

"I'm Leo," Leo bubbles back. "Are you... a real zombie?"

"Yes!" Zed said happily. "The lightning woke me up! I've been sleeping in this lake for a hundred years."

Zed explained that he used to be the guardian of Crystal Lake, until a wicked wizard cast a sleeping spell on him. The lightning's magic had broken the spell!

"But I'm all wrinkled from being underwater so long," Zed said sadly. "Nobody will want to be friends with a zombie."

Leo smiled. "I don't care what you look like. You're my friend now. And guess what? I'll teach you how to swim properly!"

All summer, Leo and Zed swam together. Zed was a little clumsy at first, but soon he could do cannonballs and backflips better than anyone. The other children were amazed.

"That's not a zombie," one girl whispered. "That's Zed, the best swimmer ever!"

Leo learned something important that summer: true friends don't care about how you look. They care about how fun and kind you are.

And whenever lightning flashed across the sky, Zed would wave his green arms and laugh, grateful for the magic that had woken him up—and for the friend who had looked past appearances to see the wonderful person inside.