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.151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3lCDhZRKK
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqu8D6ujLV
The [Child]. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4fx798BcX
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfj99DXzHVn
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenTUMnpfQH
“Why is it still here?” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEy4bk4Ikbo
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYvSs1Pb8N
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPngmTgkhq1
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo47gQXdV5N
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbbN0o9gwJ
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkbSOfHbFk
But I did. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7VliBBbPo
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VeiLbcVzX
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMaUePdrVZ
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYl6IOmzYc
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUUJdAPO7y
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOAnightTi
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zumojJ7Zm
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fplCNpYn0
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6a9kiERvJv
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbs4ylwBnT
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTEYNgvuDX
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.” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAfsvZzrAi
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZXl43bRop
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagUEC49uub
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oJm6I3jM2
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0L8jIZkk4
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kSfoQfxeH
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QibtRgI8e
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bR4WfaL1v
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zdfSUY3ty
I didn’t answer. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsl5ttCrEJV
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhB9JcR8kS
“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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8xMCTVAxY
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKwBoLNgzC
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxdUgUzFBk
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEAEYjX6yt
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHHg6gfAEC
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXohTwenJTI
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ewMuaXiKt
“And you?” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aI43iJLxy
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvlN3ChXN3
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0vp9xtrAQ
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZ4bj4Kspu
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOqA09YM9H
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToofKBfkXm
“We fight” they said simply. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSexCzWPwI
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. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJubKso976t
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnctJIJPweC
“Neither will I”151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARPTZ2ovxM
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.
151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBsAJeRZgl
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtNK2m5AZM
