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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmbj4VvwZi
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yWd1ZRNmC
The [Child]. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwZ7gIM3JJ
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7YG8O4k93
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitnLvZe0Ts
“Why is it still here?” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRatgTdr0ib
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKh7s2HoZF
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYsD99agpu
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOM1A5bPGc
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaIpKHswqs
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtyRuj0cUV
But I did. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNG25SOxsex
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnjvi8oPrv
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpDz7qLCY4
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wYItwswud
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaf1bJZRNK
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdMMZWSHpn
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxOjV1i0ua
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKviZftHt92
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoDSIdKEyk
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmc3aeOdh7
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwc8HcKAE8a
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.” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6zYt7sYmy
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AjRFn2Si0
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZu8rfyT1Ov
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dDlav0gn0
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EdwneGlcx
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEFZVJoNWX
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRDJOrJ2y4
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1ZDfcoePo
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxCBYarDi5
I didn’t answer. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASuUgWegIY
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNMs52vlPf
“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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8XfGamlGA
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDkQKQtQ2l
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvpPd6hwf5
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQn2oeD1nH
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ793IZmmyJ
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReMgFG1vBF
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0I1EUU6X5
“And you?” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uLKvVeX5e
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHqWnkEPl9
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38CAuCcC0B
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFRtE9aAUL
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCYJPWeBPx
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9b3JIY88A
“We fight” they said simply. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAS44jbwZC
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. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3rT1mgIKY
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcRU3omXT3j
“Neither will I”107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2R4iaOPRlW
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.
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmGunrt6pI
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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