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.272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEAoqftsAU
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncExNPiWyy
The [Child]. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2dP4SRdyg
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUsHueJIPW
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYG7KSy6BjE
“Why is it still here?” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOws9TvNhcQ
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZYadI0orU
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTfcGxCZR0
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqCw7u3zxM
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6c01WIQJM
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEVYNqyXcY
But I did. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfG1T72uvF
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JsoIiLh2A
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktWjFSrKeO
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBeshFmXJv
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPqmnX85vr
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡND9htX33z4
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBexelewh4
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iC8DdVGuo
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DqntNQ94R
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XRQc09Yqz
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BSZpXYs1e
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.” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kaWt2oeOO
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65GtRpDEmn
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPXn7eD93d
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PYeAuL3Dv
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfgD9smF6e
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YjYV7BUav
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESJhEBDZ9G
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1MqUAX65i
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNmExzb2PP
I didn’t answer. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjbKHEI0UK
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rxP3pPrNv
“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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fL8KBQ50q
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDG5YuJPV0
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmRlWWeujc
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqcyeGa3N6
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFLM6prFgk
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8ffQxSeOO
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkG2u0nFTE
“And you?” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16FahZSQsB
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1e5qE3aHRI
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76JTBs7SN6
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTUPJpcQeu
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJUwbf2BCo
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonHHZtJ1Ro
“We fight” they said simply. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JVdts4i9l
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. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEWHAABpuW
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RBOZlCBy0
“Neither will I”272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuq3f19Vdr
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.
272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RCH8Aw6hr
Refusing to [Grow Up].
272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aVj0AMGro
272Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRqYqqX76k
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