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.309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9suFUksjmJ
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuJRfJR65q
The [Child]. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCAqIgtyNk
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH49h72Ltcs
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyChMV0VTK
“Why is it still here?” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4dBrSlBv0
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qV4RAulUz
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1Lg0cnzOG
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxpbqKpu3l
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBnOwyRWKD
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mROzRZTRh
But I did. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvTDGaO67T
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGy00FkCko
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgtP1lyOel
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQI6eGpKkY3
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUtd1sojmr
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJwV8EM8qi
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHwzWnEY4u
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHZ87HvLMp
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXnVea4WfW
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSLDbbMvoR
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXD0hQv9rtk
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.” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWU2dI434l
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIp2sSONhNs
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8ms6Z3Snx
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkdFMJo6O2
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQCH9fDqWn
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xVg6QLggG
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqamYTZAbA
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemjyCVATi0
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAg194x94Y
I didn’t answer. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sBkDYFcsC
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWkrloNjLI
“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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYqlg8McrV
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezeFl4t5E7
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sNDeIAcDn
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkitLaNTEb
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4r1jxu9TlV
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2V6SD5QUL
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVoOVO8etM
“And you?” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmgAnQk1Hk
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmce3rc8u5w
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzV6eMvXW9
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLAke9qtGC
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOd8Erogjk
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfOeQwRRAL
“We fight” they said simply. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe65hXBoWud
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. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHr1dpNwDT
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzhwR4NX3R
“Neither will I”309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsg1w8RCWy
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.
309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFpC49jPiE
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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309Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPi6fbY7YBh
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