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.215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ygSkB1TKl
Among them, there was one anomaly: me. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwNegp5Ga4
The [Child]. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfSeGHlt92
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZCdHG4XHD
They whispered to each other sometimes when they thought I couldn’t hear. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRlrfImEze
“Why is it still here?” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwCJodFveu
“It refuses to [Grow Up].” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUMYYqlhR9
“Unnatural. Dangerous.” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrFGzcDc7h
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzxb6rxktn
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOomSo7hex9
The [Adults] didn’t play. They didn’t laugh. They didn’t dream. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHfPKDNH5d
But I did. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpI6OgoTkQq
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9tDbYnbXI
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4o0eZVdT3
Until the Dream Demon arrived. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzsI01Mp79
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hyElvW5bc
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R1ihUobqg
And out stepped the Dream Demon. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCAXkAxw5q
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXT0pnrSPr
They looked at me and tilted their head, curiosity radiating from them. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMnbMNWeSO
“You’re the [Child]” they said, their voice soft yet reverberating, as if it came from somewhere far away. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrE8Hz5ORP5
“And you’ve got horns” I shot back, gripping my bat tighter. “Who are you?” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfmrJQTaaI
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.” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcI85tquWdQ
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlU3jkvMLMB
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpV8USXv9M
“You’re the only one like you” they said one day, watching as I swung my bat at a dented metal bucket. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCT4GksaBiK
“Yeah, and you’re the only [Adult] with horns” I retorted. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiDB9CrHjb
“Fair point. But aren’t you lonely?” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqh94bagCk
I stopped mid-swing, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. Lonely? I had never thought about it that way. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwzjfVcTw4
“No” I lied, swinging again with more force. “I’ve got this whole world to myself.” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtbrCSbkkM
“But it’s not your world, is it? It belongs to them.” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn40HmRikvv
I didn’t answer. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLepXsaJ00C
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMwN793S0z
“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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzKP98oQjM
“They’re afraid of anything different” they replied. “And you are the most different thing in this world.” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7WpLbx1tL
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynPesvxkFZ
“This is it” the Dream Demon said, their voice tinged with wonder. “My way home.” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jhneJpgKa
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVBCufFznH
But then I thought of the playground, of the swings and the slide and the merry-go-round. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjEcAFln7N
“You should go” I said finally, stepping back. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0kYZ3KclT
“And you?” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZapawE1ujY
I shook my head. “This is my world.” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Q289XiOqv
That night, the [Adults] came for us. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGCJsibqUj
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvA88Zj65Cg
“[Grow Up], [Child],” they whispered, their voices like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “[Grow Up].” 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGLOxMiRXL
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWLhPednxO
“We fight” they said simply. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFq8eG4C4I
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. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtJHqCvHMI
“They won’t stop” the Dream Demon warned. 215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZnOb9EOXa
“Neither will I”215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeModkVbqN
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.
215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CIc6LaeuN
Refusing to [Grow Up].
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and then Add to home screen.