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.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Iqe7qAtzU
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeMFCJg8vf
The [Child]. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlDhDDlcBW
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ITqmucuQi
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PT3rKLCd4
“Why is it still here?” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgNhdg16GI
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7zr4Jhlnz
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfV08TuJnFX
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVb2qDNgxNQ
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19zBeQ9Qzu
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZE1LjfLax
But I did. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsqhxi6cae
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLwxRCufkl
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrWJO02UTX
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUXPb6elRJ
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3ksHV9k6W
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwTWQpcKzP
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoauKlX8n78
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqrdZxX9Mx
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ894b6gMqvd
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZJi0F1oCQ
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2NkzEHFa5
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.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVP7qTa4MP
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71fooe5VdQ
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkfCYW1lbn
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkh4hdM6u0p
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZ8A11mgeJ
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjTnuZsERt
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJTTSaLltm
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0m2qvhJb8
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdOduKtCE2
I didn’t answer. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZb2pjYS5x
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNtZ0nNyDN
“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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7edBeHIhBC
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKYoyIkKH9
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsLXnoJKXB
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmAdcFTNMg
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwi05PSbJiE
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpmScQFKn7
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQzQLF89Q5
“And you?” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiZvS9eGmL
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihcMPLZtpG
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0lQO01Pev
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGJZgdVIIW
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfMmOiDa5Q
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0lYpSt5PD
“We fight” they said simply. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKAZ7TrAkX
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. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sZ3g70vMW
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzzEENoupC
“Neither will I”198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQGk4OGf1l
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.
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfK1cMit5sM
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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