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.301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUna0gRxQHr
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTwdGumbuQ
The [Child]. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcreBipTCrM
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dLbivtVuF
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8gTymuWs1
“Why is it still here?” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBxfmetfUE
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IbgpQykgm
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceKvgaRvD3
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnBCpiGeRq
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SWr2S2Pv2
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMxYqV3ppf
But I did. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSfHPB0PB9
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3o1eDE84xm
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCohyZqoxA
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVHYyry2kC
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRxT3I0kuB
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGmex4FMPx
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1GPUs64Q7
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjAexPdQr1
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AMLg4H7Qm
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pHLZgdvfh
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ld7IZJ823
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.” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLdorPA7ki
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eq1DLuUDA
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESItMYTOQB
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVYWolPDFO
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9gJcpnh4B
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGGqK0GwNF
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItCiGY9AT4
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkc9sBabRH
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUIo8dc3Dy
I didn’t answer. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwladG0EA8V
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzt6hOtg5q
“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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSY9GcBpic
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0qlbMR56x
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9GDiD5LrW
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyuMXwhN9b
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPzZfywoe2
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36hTjfMYWn
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiZWleK9Eq
“And you?” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwgAAu8xFw
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RjAPUK8th
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumScDCLI51
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8dDMwwT5W
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrM3HrAsm7b
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrrxCNPnbi
“We fight” they said simply. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUXxYKrXNt
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. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiakMBJrAF
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZoQPZCrZU
“Neither will I”301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBaC13xLql
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.
301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVODqTiI2t
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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