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.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVFkbtQvhk
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6vCErTUC6
The [Child]. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmn3ojdTYM
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegV3dm2hPN
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVec2CkImU
“Why is it still here?” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdESRYZugg
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt22z475Dfc
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFEoilVd8y
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLb1Mfr0uNY
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhI95SxkzLD
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPlZoGCpXv
But I did. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeByXByudb
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbOCsIgZfD
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8T0VCigvf
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKxeI4rNvW
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIBQT2x9Rf
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dMSXuxSJn
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27O7Kbyy69
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41LE1DRaTQ
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKAP23Fxvs
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStnqssMUva
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBdWbO3f6b
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.” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8W6rECB8B
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoieoTZc6y
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehHfEbeMta
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFqqAIiGxJ
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcHKLzgoy6
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSq2MmzQmd
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToTAPvVT1W
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lCFDElNua
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZi3OqMPnM
I didn’t answer. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXGSapdbJW
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdU2hVGU6N
“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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvWIH7tRS4
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMNYdpVqUL
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxngNCO5FD
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iIjNMkQXk
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsXAmgX88N
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5yo2KFcMs
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xd4HPE565
“And you?” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecPSyRDt16
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZiiD0WQM4
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCnvxPHl4O
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcL5FZOPLk
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCorW6QBsh
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMsOQzBgCh
“We fight” they said simply. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpTsqlIANo
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. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsArLFAEaK
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYwmM9Abip
“Neither will I”155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdJJUK67yH
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.
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQhPA4LYYq
Refusing to [Grow Up].
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yjlHi5UMk
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhosj17dLzo
然後按「加至主畫面」