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.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxiRoRvyiV
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNhSjPfvgZ
The [Child]. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95UlH5GzDF
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q6wdZXffF
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjdTggePPV
“Why is it still here?” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCAU9t0Yso
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa39AYRvAah
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRowCZq2biB
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuiPscN5yFZ
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKt0rLuHnUu
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbd6uqS2TwM
But I did. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmI4c6J8kWQ
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGj1gxn4DiE
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT3HzVrOqL
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUB8hZZjjos
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr397SDOk4J
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OZMh3kPuW
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6ILJRoZ4U
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMR9nfmAGeE
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxtoNZM9Oc
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUimKEjyyqd
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOTGjCjWIB
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.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbDcL6bH81
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpapLBXsZjH
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuu7YWuO47
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiuyPmpSH9
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZqGa8vvDD
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLJifRBkVE
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUaNh0OFqz
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61fvraLNmz
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi03jsvZYYY
I didn’t answer. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVmt4Olseg
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItgpNuwMAU
“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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8DXo1MjnZ
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdruUCivDtL
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡga1KoR8cZK
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfg2i41ZC6I
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rBvHoXOgJ
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxp2pYMXwl
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqwIfhU0sL
“And you?” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCGAIGDN82
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeU4ObGl6ZS
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0Swy3ROaK
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5hvT5UaR3
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vMX2Mm5mj
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQivfxaYyUE
“We fight” they said simply. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3NNmXOVyO
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. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtivb7h33h
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXr6AS7C5fO
“Neither will I”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSiWfLVMG8
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.
129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGNQ86PPLv
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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