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.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmEk721PbD
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ar4B5yBg1
The [Child]. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfXVSP4IOl
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyjtbwbjNt
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5pebjkxbA
“Why is it still here?” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUjy2qNzU5
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsOzZtn5GW
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7AAk69NHW
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIucGtSvNaP
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYq5x1akFg
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKW8vy83hzi
But I did. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGk9HnlbAUF
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWcXrEPwDD
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhvrWS5PzR
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKllcC4rsv
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6d1GXU4z7
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1O15A47eRG
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARhZOqvUeA
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpghVdPIPY
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgFxKA5Puv
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGSs5tTQkb
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31tWGa5bsp
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.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUsUneS66Q
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9B4tDOiFot
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8x4r44SQw0
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvjgHxCLqy
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegYD1cEQIj
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96v2IH8jjc
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvSvHofgJc
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxQppBgTJO
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TH2zEhHjA
I didn’t answer. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBV8oxCM50
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkh95zjLT1B
“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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNVqh4DVty
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrbHZuzaVt
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIpn6vyDop
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3Kv5IZ5cB
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndbYyffCZS
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqG34H9W3XK
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaTLyFvC9w
“And you?” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJJWAal16D
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRaEVg7oHGy
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJf81DiUrXd
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJLxEtOQWT
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBv86WharZ
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ7DnsvLJZ
“We fight” they said simply. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzp1JugFYtk
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. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfB7l0WALpE
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4GRvEHYx4
“Neither will I”187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkw7Eaj9cwn
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.
187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyFc0joN55
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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