The Zombie Who Swam with Stars

Penny loved her backyard swimming pool. Every evening, she'd watch the sunset turn the water into liquid gold. But tonight, something strange happened.

A small green figure crept out from behind the garden shed. It had messy hair, one eye closed, and walked with a funny wobble. Penny gasped—it was a zombie! But this zombie didn't want brains. He held a shiny golden coin and pointed at the pool.

"Water," the zombie croaked. "Sparkle water."

Penny nodded. "I'm Penny. What's your name?"

"Zed," whispered the zombie. "Zed the Zombie. But I'm not scary. I just love to swim."

Just then, the garden statue of a sphinx that Grandma had given them began to glow. The stone lion with human features stirred, stretching its wings. The sphinx spoke in a voice like wind through ancient pyramids.

"To swim in this pool, you must answer my riddle," the sphinx announced. "What has to be broken before you can use it?"

Zed looked worried. He scratched his green head. Penny thought hard too.

"An egg!" Penny shouted.

The sphinx smiled. "Correct. You may swim."

But Zed stood still, looking sad. "I... I don't have a swimsuit," he mumbled. "And I'm all bumpy and weird."

Penny grinned. "That's okay! We can play Splash Monster instead!"

The sphinx nodded wisely. "True friendship sees past appearances. Tonight, let us all play together."

And so they did—Penny, Zed the friendly zombie, and the magical sphinx—splashing and playing until the moon rose high. Zed wasn't scary at all. He was just someone who wanted a friend, and sometimes the best friends come in the most surprising packages.

"Come back tomorrow, Zed!" Penny called as the sphinx returned to statue form and Zed wobbled back into the garden shadows.

"Splash time!" Zed called back, already planning tomorrow's adventure.