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.305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIeSMIsNhb
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTDtA4zc2O
The [Child]. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqej3Iv1wW
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsp69QRN2T
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iyu96Y7NW
“Why is it still here?” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83bKy3l7OP
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8bOnnPXgj
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwj4TJ7pFpk
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSO0M7BlDX
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW56orbAJ8r
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50Q3g48UfL
But I did. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILPd0QuVMG
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAvp0K3d0I
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFGFbtBybI
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt76FTJzgMy
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ktdNFY2wc
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhRfickLkm
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm0rNXz50A
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1Z66yG5SW
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bjdXVrxst
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibDRWAdDhr
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIGYesGdNX
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.” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNBFXoab9f
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFr7aWu4Yts
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBQEi2PYtq
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBtZ24vtVK
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPbjekC9rQ
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWo2brhBJS
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkToYWp23p
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMxhf0qTo8
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPSfqjAjxK
I didn’t answer. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmbDhcxAZI
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLe1cOJ6fOd
“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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZEFHYC4bx
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80cGrDq5aW
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6Ic2Bcxcl
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zwcfd8WCF
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLIF6BlXzO
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMzxnr3s0z
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiX44E7KF1
“And you?” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb595930yQ3
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZkChvAtqJ
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrCAKdBNh2
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9flYvGfCeT
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3RbSjDMKL
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0smOlfGSH
“We fight” they said simply. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hZUYGAIsA
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. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30GxE0eHdc
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16ncJkl7Vd
“Neither will I”305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlG4fvLuewz
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.
305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMbKMpiFwY
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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