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.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLFWOXFDUk
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2tQHlWKRP
The [Child]. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfBjNsqf7p
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHON0aos6cb
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbC97Zf3uG9
“Why is it still here?” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnU19uavI1f
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzWv8I7XAW
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrE2cfgTrLk
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9Um6I0wle
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslcVoTVRxh
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDggO8yfQi
But I did. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUu7MJC0Tu
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2yLNbfr9Kf
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdulCPrdmx
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qy4890QJK
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKcZ8JTwlh
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPexrTqN803
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6oxFs5Vcq
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTswtJ5o6YY
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3DOtdqC38
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCkupFSk03
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO7zSh5z7t
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.” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQATRm6yGq
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2WcIGW0MR
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzPPzwTexk
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEDk2h3bmu
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQy8FvEdnv
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrHdLFi0sj
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvxHQbreQH
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFcF46gRHU
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GdndFpuAi
I didn’t answer. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfk5yRrFnEI
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7kzx2LJ33
“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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJG9E9TLzr
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMdvLv5EZu
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0n05xkCOEY
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQ98ZuXVJq
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8GQGAyXV6
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugUwuBIGqz
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkKMimOC4A
“And you?” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnXPiI5pDq
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiPa2fEqNx
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5uQXRao7W
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGVsKh38xv
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFORA5YpFo
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIkIsHwnrB
“We fight” they said simply. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghwvYAfPYg
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. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwcb8shSYU
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvh5WzrbzUN
“Neither will I”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKs96XM3Mvz
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWf4fzdU4w
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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