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.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdqSueEwfB
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKnfuIyZNc
The [Child]. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6tuLHrwWg
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWsiIvrhP5
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkef8df49s
“Why is it still here?” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1yHGU1l4B
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOtP5UxoSN
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1u8NLnPxO0
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGLgB2djqY
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95t4ljtEEn
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0skNe8mdb
But I did. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidXcSZOfnH
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzFFcu7SoW
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1474Zy4Swx
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3kDauaVcm
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVCYNMfcVW
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaN2BcB5ym
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLsTmjoOPo
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1S3QarujDm
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBduuKjrphk
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSzV0Of3uj
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllp4ptcJSy
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.” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfhvZCA9zP
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcZ8faK8jW
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BjEdvclpY
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQ8RbzHxnR
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSDtP3RGgb
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWUDZevshH
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUMcbwhty4
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qyWMtLoaI
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvIk6twGcO
I didn’t answer. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52AiOj02yO
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmO9bzaCCd
“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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJQ5TkxLMH
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSMbdRcPDh
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBt4pl8GIs9
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zuitoM9F7
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7msOOLltO
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RR9PuR0hp
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVrmqSPsKY
“And you?” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvsmiQMUND
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGBjdpt69J
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXs9PE9CLVp
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuyFlTWqd3
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsvodO1DYZ
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbdH4L96xz
“We fight” they said simply. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfsAEIdojv
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. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPmbC2P406
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8rFIm7aMW
“Neither will I”106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7wLPWhNXi
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.
106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JJ9boJN6g
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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