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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbeLTQPknJ
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibOfF0jXUB
The [Child]. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdj96aVigN1
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUhcCzI4nz
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjouslP4BK2
“Why is it still here?” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULBOzq5P0C
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkjKhTjkvw
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnn33fHjCG
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbwdxehzcs
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EAqiutX8O
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhimbW5ojPR
But I did. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8Qyjmt9Bh
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd5qjxepL0
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLCtPG0xi2
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylDdup6Egc
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUa84pUY4y
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmQBrigT6J
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDj28rDjoE4
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8b2nGJflp
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpdM7WbyUQ
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7s3WGSl4F
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZieVYeofSp
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.” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuS02enVUP
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEysJ4OIbuz
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nnkvobECI
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9O3D45qED2
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KMJI4yE8l
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDC37DY6amd
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNOVJu048L
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHvbGmqZpn
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJoezNF610
I didn’t answer. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1GCvPq803
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWU84f9SM0
“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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNMoSzR5jD
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RJGIiIfg6
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReiYvmW7Xw
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD63MZeHVir
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAGBLfPeFQ
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4f8Fw6Y7wI
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQakIMa0asL
“And you?” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6p019Pjol
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWQY0JC5QQ
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJ2ukkVv6G
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2udzFL0wEE
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWN3q2HVGd
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPKjLZKiXb
“We fight” they said simply. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2TQDDCyy5
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. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPEwypicvn
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Hz5M7pFWb
“Neither will I”196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OHMgjh9i3
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.
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEjbW2hmsV
Refusing to [Grow Up].
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGwgHLNMw4
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaxEVzGqPU
然後按「加至主畫面」