The Zombie Who Needed a Friend

Lily skipped through the park, her iPhone clutched tight in her hand. She was playing her favorite game, catching magical creatures, when she heard a strange sound.

"Ughhh..." came a moan from behind the big oak tree.

Lily froze. Her heart beat fast. Could it be... a zombie?

She peeked around the tree. There stood a boy, about her age, stumbling around with his arms stretched out. His face was pale, and his eyes looked sleepy and glazed.

"Brains..." he mumbled. "I need... brain food..."

Lily almost ran away. But then she noticed something strange. The zombie boy wasn't scary at all. He looked sad and lonely. His backpack hung open, and colorful pill bottles spilled onto the grass.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked bravely.

The boy looked up, surprised. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice normal now. "I'm just really tired. My mom said I need to take my vitamins every day, but I keep forgetting. This morning, I felt so sleepy that I could barely walk."

Lily giggled. "You're not a zombie! You're just hungry for vitamins!"

The boy smiled. "I'm Oliver. What's your name?"

"I'm Lily." She looked at her iPhone. "Hey, do you want to play my game with me? And then maybe we can go to the store and get some yummy gummy vitamins?"

Oliver's face lit up. "That sounds amazing!"

For the rest of the afternoon, Lily and Oliver played together, collecting magical creatures and laughing. They walked to the corner store and picked out bright orange vitamin C gummies that tasted like sunshine.

"Thank you, Lily," Oliver said, popping a gummy into his mouth. "You didn't run away when I looked scary. You became my friend instead."

Lily smiled. "That's what friends do. Sometimes zombies aren't zombies at all. They're just people who need a little help."

And that's how Lily learned that the scariest things aren't always what they seem, and kindness is the best vitamin of all.