The world was an infinite city, gray and stagnant, where the streets stretched on forever and the skies never changed. To the untrained eye, everything seemed meticulously perfect. The [Adults] walked in silent, orderly rows, their polished shoes clicking in harmony on the pavement, their faces blank and focused. They spoke only when necessary and only in monotones. They carried briefcases, tools, or books in their hands, symbols of their unending, joyless labor.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5BsofwXM1
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuoZ6IltS8
The [Child]. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3ZNrUFpAw
I darted through the streets with scuffed sneakers and untamed laughter, the baseball bat on my shoulder acting as my only shield. I knew the [Adults] hated me. Not because they ever shouted or chased me outright, but because of the way they looked at me—when they dared look at all. Their hollow eyes would linger for just a moment before they turned away, as if the sight of me, a burst of color and movement, burned them. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWuTkflRUo
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjgfja5P6i
“Why is it still here?” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtNCydb9AL
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXM11f2SP1
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNW7B14xNRh
I didn’t care what they thought. This city might have been built for them, but I lived here too. And I wasn’t going anywhere. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84ykRjxydQ
In this world, I wasn’t supposed to exist. I didn’t know where I came from, and I didn’t care to ask. Memories of the past, if I ever had any, were foggy and distant. All I knew was the present: the suffocating monotony of this city and the quiet rebellion that burned in my chest every time I swung my bat at an empty soda can or shouted nonsense at the towering buildings. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoC98hd8X9v
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7xmyb966Y
But I did. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZHO3JkSQz
I had claimed the abandoned playground on the city’s edge as my own. It was a strange place, as if it had been left behind when the rest of the city was built. Rusted monkey bars twisted into jagged angles, the swings creaked on their chains, and the merry-go-round spun aimlessly in the wind. The playground felt alive in a way the city never did. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmx7pegg8R
It was here that I felt safe, free to climb, run, and scream to my heart’s content. The [Adults] never came near it. Maybe they couldn’t, or maybe they simply refused to acknowledge it existed. Either way, it was mine. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMxaUYr8cu
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcEDEdRBd9
The day the Dream Demon appeared started like any other. I was balancing on the top of the monkey bars, my bat tucked under one arm as I surveyed my domain. The playground was surrounded by endless concrete, with no trees or flowers in sight. It was an ocean of gray, broken only by the faint hum of the city beyond. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQFrhokcJN
Then, I saw it—a ripple in the air above the horizon, like the heat shimmer on a hot summer day. Except it wasn’t summer, and this wasn’t heat. The ripple grew, twisting and distorting the skyline until it tore open, revealing a swirling vortex of light. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8lE55mu3i
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSQLdDZY0b
They were unlike anything I’d ever seen. Tall and elegant, with horns that curled gracefully from their head like polished onyx. Their clothes were an impossible mix of textures and colors—silk, leather, feathers, and things I couldn’t even name. Their eyes were mismatched: one a brilliant gold, the other a swirling void that seemed to hold galaxies. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJccqVoItu4
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWezc0qAeg
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZpyRafGKB
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtiu3dBM8p
They smiled faintly, revealing sharp teeth. “You can call me the Dream Demon. Though I didn’t intend to come here, I find myself... intrigued.” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrmmqsJDXl
I didn’t trust them, but I wasn’t scared either. Something about them felt different from the [Adults]. They weren’t hollow or lifeless. They were strange, yes, but alive in a way I could understand. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshwyz5Wjqx
The Dream Demon stayed. They claimed they had no choice, that the portal wouldn’t reopen for some time. At first, I ignored them, retreating to my playground and refusing to engage. But they were persistent, following me around like a curious cat. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLxG3sTfwG
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VmNuHW7ii
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9sbw55vX6
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8s16baAts
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvzUjLTtkd
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxe8M4uejXw
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCOTLFjb4w
I didn’t answer. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mwx9qsqT4
Despite my initial resistance, I found myself warming to the Dream Demon. They were strange, yes, but they weren’t like the [Adults]. They asked questions, laughed at my jokes, and even tried to swing on the rusted chains of the playground. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMVxj2CeBC
“They’re afraid of you” I said one day as we wandered through the empty streets together. The [Adults] had started to notice us more, their whispers growing louder, their hollow eyes lingering on the Dream Demon’s horns. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX6TwE4Tk8
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGTlWoovS2
I grinned, taking it as a compliment.
It was in the bowels of an abandoned factory that we found the portal—a swirling vortex of light and color, hidden behind layers of machinery and forgotten tools. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡals7QAVVkz
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06KslLBvPS
I stared at the portal, an uneasy feeling twisting in my chest. For a moment, I imagined stepping through it, leaving behind the gray city and its [Adults]. Maybe the Dream Demon’s world was different, a place where I wouldn’t feel so out of place. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCDNyqIURM
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiFXChSp2Q
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgypYSKf62n
“And you?” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2Wz9JSr8T
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1quCVESdSw
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBUssqvlSA
They didn’t speak. They never did. Their whispers surrounded the playground like a rising tide, their shadowy forms blending into the grayness of the city. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54cRrObGwm
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5TAuyDbDL
I grabbed my bat and stood my ground, my heart pounding in my chest. The Dream Demon appeared beside me, their horns glowing faintly as shadows curled around their fingers like smoke. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaiRc5KY1b
“We fight” they said simply. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtTp2B54dL
The [Adults] attacked in waves, their whispers growing louder, their movements faster. My bat swung through the air, connecting with their hollow forms, sending them scattering like ash. The Dream Demon fought beside me, their shadows twisting and clawing, their power a stark contrast to my brute force. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWl6thWMIF
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQM1wE2WJp4
“Neither will I”163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JAGN3hA0Z
The Dream Demon left through the portal eventually, their parting words a promise to remember me. I stayed behind, my bat in hand, ready to face whatever the [Adults] threw at me.
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIbVibKZyL
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcnQPeE5kK
