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.164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiGENB2nit
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UBDIm1KGh
The [Child]. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlgNNyV8a8
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJHfG2rJYJ
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNpU4qjucg
“Why is it still here?” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4o9QJtImGS
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwyjg3zw3o
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO4vnifURQ
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtO41DCk5O7
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjW5yqCCMPX
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2o60QPWsR
But I did. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWZgQPk5dS
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTE640QMkH5
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYwGONkjFx
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxa1w8YquV
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8roJCJ3oR
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDj6qcMPRfg
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxaaeDUaTt
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLmoiEU9Mh
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbPsO57yQr
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3RiEYbTAc
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lIJYKZpzS
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.” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2r8ptYUwj
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc86cDv94xd
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2t4gmEJap9
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0CGmGsJkZ
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBPFErpzdd
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWMXORQty1
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDp5fp7olY
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMHHTMqMtr
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioHR2uHVIM
I didn’t answer. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lp7sqWAXO
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfca2su2QL
“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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrFHI0Y1ll
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUAnMFtcZF
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxwtxzGuvV
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzNAtToPFv
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVu7y2JOQYh
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1bhft0s6b
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhSmJUTkiJ
“And you?” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvb6NsU3yD
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnVsr1DbO2
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5ycY7M5Zj
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDjkQ2r7NZ
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbqwbRtco5
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhUJODHMYy
“We fight” they said simply. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSInfUVUsL
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. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MkrAxdFF2
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzz6XJwi39
“Neither will I”164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCbjGnRo0K
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.
164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9Y0Jsmp1T
Refusing to [Grow Up].
164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrdnxK9GhF
164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPw410kN3HX
