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.306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNi4vXzcU9
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ejkJkTaRp
The [Child]. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwIJplTruo
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCbh7H3Tqe
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjst0ckdStN
“Why is it still here?” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmevlyi4NkA
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7jmiAlI0R
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KgPZ7hwHa
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ErSggWKUB
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJE5nCH5Fu
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zGG9rrpPU
But I did. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPZYkByhNW
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64OXcKgWXj
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohDcKkqILl
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA07ersWAt
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakVj15ZbuU
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhSkZDErnR
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfStO1Nkc8z
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRl4X0QPQ5
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07lcvntfSs
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIDxF4kOtp
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6EkUEbwlY
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.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzOzMntVTO
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBTEwpKToc
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaHPvBbIbd
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwfCEtWYOK
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgcwTxUejE
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuVYHwCxOA
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUM43yO7ms5
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPDEVCQg4H
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifxB5EcPSB
I didn’t answer. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nEmEpwMj5
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GvPiR52ed
“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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKF0GS6XnT
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIE2hNcXzYI
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuDs1UemDQ
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23lhTVdHHm
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs80I8CKHxg
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYDZyiAAfk
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIHcycc6n2
“And you?” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjCvTudQjZ
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6kU4kFsSg
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdx9X7xqoO
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzthcThv4b
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHqUU78gCF
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzSaiSofGo
“We fight” they said simply. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUgakacEiu
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPeA9s4xse
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0sRwNUJtI
“Neither will I”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIVo6qP08B
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.
306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY2fjzIbTF
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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