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.342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKtX57iTpF
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmgol0zTL3
The [Child]. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjQxudjkHl
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ggKSwS5Ue
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwyjov0MMP
“Why is it still here?” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUVtqaUZ5D
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FKmiSFepL
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6Nqmd52EW
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1zmSBDP3y
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiWK96pXec
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2AbJ3FJz1Z
But I did. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0n1YogQWeO
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzGBtGkiOu
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIBzZpbwMv
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8mF7Q4VPJ
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAb8wKdazU
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmq0cql7Zd
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4reMdjWg9
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecr4TG51NE
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSikvzO8vk
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJQxrtMja8
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHP7RNiKIpB
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.” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OPLTPKwxq
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMbwJEBkJY
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJcLnsAo1r
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzIZseHAli
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYiYD1PIDL
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqvKDqgH2a
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPx2KBrIEe
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6kSyb5HQE
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMAcOXwT0y
I didn’t answer. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEB0AiEQ3Q9
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Bh8GGAbMm
“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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3V9J87fII9
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LYMTJeqlF
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhqPIkCenx
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8X4HOBxRi
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4d4GeLRke
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WY4gUvyDT
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACxayy9Pea
“And you?” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhOEFdcIz1
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPstfdtsuES
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgrR1DVC4Y
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBUsctL5IB
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wUejfzHV6
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdZjjFMoyj
“We fight” they said simply. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCTXvT1JxN
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. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YVXSFR2rJ
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzdMbPKpJf
“Neither will I”342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk75xXo61vq
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.
342Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58pY3GZevm
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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