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.236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjn1MjSHTKM
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADSWIzRopI
The [Child]. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLdD9dTvKE
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflPupwZCTk
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMacr3o7fu
“Why is it still here?” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6HjDnIMQh
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfVIHmYjNY
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinhNN8QkpN
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKMkZUUX72
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnub5lVcEzw
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpLSZn2N4F
But I did. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyYXASNWDH
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDZ8sU6NrS
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTLEITXx3z
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2X03JYpF5f
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsZ05cvS3r
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xFdzh76N4
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7tQIVQGnS
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaszLfAVsa
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFKMpcWCY0
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuR7Kl1idg
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QmNogigQq
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.” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhy0GTKWwnG
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfJomxoTTb
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0cf3xe9sS
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkui1v4foX
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjiyJV6mIk
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnI3wwPqGGN
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhk2X99DZhX
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLkSgjKhPF
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKCZLFJg55
I didn’t answer. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf03Rr1HYlk
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cjLcUEsSR
“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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1E5ICqS6xb
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7w9SvKUyq
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvshmIMFIoK
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yv7CGEQFL
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6WJQ6LQK2
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxn54SQYKFl
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fBEPsMg7y
“And you?” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCYbuWx0aS
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLSqIvS9pP
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0FIEd9Y8k
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IXC2OJBjg
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqrKdaRyfG
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfgAi55ydz
“We fight” they said simply. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpU4U1Hx6Q
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. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvADRt9DLgZ
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4U9jPdnJUC
“Neither will I”236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5ljXdJ5CW
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.
236Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPUMubLWoc
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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