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.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwQ8hjPOrj
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EUp3vYeA9
The [Child]. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmok2kpYJav
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fMBv44xAT
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GiphIvN1I
“Why is it still here?” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡns8mwD3oMi
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUj3wbVh0T
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfunP5ECHg
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQPwkBOchs
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHFmvXD7B4
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZPp4NmX0V
But I did. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ589dW1myo5
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiEssEjQcf
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2tNTRqhYm
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTViDyYPeX6
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxkvgNJwAt
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBv91FHYfT
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9jORzZq8f
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UFdvIa0K5
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAeWse2j89
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81rNmjUXxp
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGjlMWonnc
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.” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqjTSawOr9
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23dlhkRVKq
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cqbk2Cyyx
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDr9cGHIzvy
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6ukdnnjDY
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbB9kiug7d
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUIsxDn13w
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1fMEi5VqZ
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡez4OmaMWTE
I didn’t answer. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡow0gqUtC7z
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVR115Hzdi6
“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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGXbpsCD47
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYg8kLvmHA
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6Rnh8btvR
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaYAD0GMoD
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgBURTBUuu
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2cw5Ka00f
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIl7yrfsX6
“And you?” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdjQ1Hropz
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvT5KLLWzQ
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4qJx0hJ2M
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHXVibw0T3
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuh04Mnd8V
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ661S3kM5eG
“We fight” they said simply. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXy17f3AqXV
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. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARruJ6w4hW
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0bgviMEsS
“Neither will I”159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyS9JSMXsKV
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.
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywtRyYao4T
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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