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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevFS4o8jBB
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxjHzEdyV0
The [Child]. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5kQfQ4FZG
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxbDfHvPF3
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtr05S9Lf5
“Why is it still here?” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOPehIl2Tz
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNnt3GR969
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlSz7aMUT4
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNjQlGKPSY
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLVAp26SI9
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vrEL6imNZ
But I did. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8zwKR4Nl3
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufOASinW21
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtT1yBpPbes
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBOmAKIlaP
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaL9KAUu8pT
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtWlTYo96I
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaDsRPWC8A
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20V5nmVLVW
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5Qi5J1I5u
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbGCtGT9F6
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2txbXs9yVw
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.” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG33vwSgSEL
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5GVd2E81E
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNvPduhLbD
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fmggRBZf7
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLz4SEUSAr
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78fnaMpavS
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8yRtah2WI
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRA3gU56JZY
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH79jpjtyai
I didn’t answer. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzsB8vhtIl
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKwpiSFhkn
“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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcy2qEPy2d
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjRFsXUgK5
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuaZ3bO3tI
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24mMFThEah
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsv2M0wEUPa
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDco73XmL21
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkooP3F70uQ
“And you?” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPxW6HgQAO
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BWvsRZHOW
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQsF5PMZS3
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0st2J7EqFi
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfTjXaGeCH
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGEnTHz1YJ
“We fight” they said simply. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVsHXfDdg0
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. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECv29pLKMr
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWDV9m8lJi
“Neither will I”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZT26vQh8uJ
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.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFy5juDPPm7
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKevwvR0Sb
