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.234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7qvtB3zgs
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzv8eW2ctUo
The [Child]. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvF2iY4lrC
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpb1TXfdOMv
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXq9aPQMrG
“Why is it still here?” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYMVK14nl9
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cFrw7eMg9
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYrHMHkTrt
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAE2IGkX6JV
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClxZkZRvhU
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUPDtr9nfA
But I did. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZ9v72hoh4
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoVxS54xsN
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnALJSxDAlv
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdJhTQABvp
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1I5t6uUpcj
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxOw1vLsbH
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hxhNWSL0r
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWOrGllw4O
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Z7kEFumXg
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsE6wkyUHnS
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJvk9l8ROD
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.” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhVsw6kQvg
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgOYklY8Ks
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUj65nk79U
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHulSBE5m8v
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOaqrLiOoL
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebRaWAQbVu
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCtjv9GkUl
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63PZlcJVZ9
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2gde3ehBL
I didn’t answer. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uTdkl3EmZ
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRbi1a8FpQ
“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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Hs2zRJUSK
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI2X31VYKr
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydBhOa8RTe
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27GR5hBZJ1
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkFRCZ1nzv
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FcUFetuQg
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9cXbLGjxg
“And you?” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQFdY1WHFw
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpd9m6exSP
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtm73qoxbe
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfynsLg0CgR
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdm8y2xpZx
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDubq0mOJ14
“We fight” they said simply. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3mWWiikSI
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. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9vrvgWkyF
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeprI9PI97r
“Neither will I”234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QsJ5H1ymN
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.
234Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnEjmaxBHB
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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