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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8uHx5YUAP
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rAHdXi31v
The [Child]. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNaUuk5S9h
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqs4v9JqhS
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVSvRhkFTp
“Why is it still here?” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZOajJqXLm
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrjcTIdwI2
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHwIyI1fLx
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGl1MuIsNkj
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpp3W6vBYsA
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gjvqBAZ5H
But I did. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSQaPZRRbs
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1Qr7nLw6u
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Gstb6pX1e
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Vg8Qnjj7F
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RfCjDQa1O
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy23qukk5kC
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5mWYrOyb8
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9gnpKrOa4
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFTldJplhC
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHyGP0ZStR
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeG5mERuOd
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.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwerKirwRo7
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNYc0Hoi0X
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1JGsEHm8z
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHd3SifSTYS
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzMp29b9an
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQ1nfU5DwU
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xntfic8ZU
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHNRzNihXj
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCotxJeDU4z
I didn’t answer. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZtMOc8Lpl
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWGzQUWe0w
“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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuN6DkiAOFc
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqz0U313W86
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxkEzauAPE
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxaz9HA1PQ
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXprT6o7UA2
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVZaygmzeU
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlQHVQBkIk
“And you?” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMICbGG1x2Y
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrzkSbPMXk
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmN8xy1HPur
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DViTyL2PY
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZxesaCYxd
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMOHEJ8exS
“We fight” they said simply. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDN4A7xsaf
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LNJUVgCCn
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SW1jRTMks
“Neither will I”199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZM23WMKPjX
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.
199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAm1fMtFXo
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8WsWIORUy
