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.307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YI5CeOEFb
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiJvotGiCG
The [Child]. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQpGbjRjJF
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvocwoj2zs
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTZ3ciOsPZ
“Why is it still here?” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywZ7ZPjLiy
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQcEg1cIu2
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2xjZEnFiQ
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBRXAsFlHv
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjJpd7dVe1
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAtF4G1TR9
But I did. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNp09mHEukj
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMkbyVT9Eb
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClUNv9whet
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHsMl0JykJ
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvnxRILwX5
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjo1RJFUvvQ
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mSJag1sgx
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7lMKKYO5e
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGa311jGmZ
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMfSqRmQ0r
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgur6gy2Ywo
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.” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAhtWi85xQ
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkNV2YFgP0
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCiOCgSkUI
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiOOJHICTh
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPnLBkkfRH
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsx1HptQsJ3
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ42yYmAVhg
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xmLTquTBs
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKXA9yaWOR
I didn’t answer. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlM6ZwZ1uAi
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBACfLDbdKh
“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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGCQwSs67j
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeI9BI0HYgS
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIw4XjITScW
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfIQ15fYlq
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgwaJTOUgi
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EeMMQPe4j
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssmpjMRiJw
“And you?” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcXtJmWYmu
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7q2nSrBF4
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqpTIUk2UB
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GFwcgTzTC
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFltNs0sNZd
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2HhCA1Hgh
“We fight” they said simply. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnygqmfcOwJ
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffKrYteoXi
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMz8p9y6Fn
“Neither will I”307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSDZNjj74A
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.
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gsdzxl9th
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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