Chapter One : The Old House And The Old Woman
Ted had just barely seen the wooden and slightly-deteriorating house when he was riding by, and the light coming from the room at the top seemed to be the only thing that had caught his eye. He stared up at it curiously, tilting his head. Grammy didn't mention anyone but the Once-ler living outside of Thneedville… I wonder who it is. Ted shut off his motorbike, and cautiously top-toed towards the house. He just had to see if anyone was really living in that old place.
"Hello, there, young man." An old voice suddenly called out, making Ted jump as his eyes darted around to find the source. He finally spotted a figure sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, and the figure looked to be an elderly woman. She was smiling at him, her wrinkled cheeks creasing smoothly. "It's so nice to see a young face out here, yet so odd… Might I ask what a young boy like you is doing outside of there?" She gestured towards the bright lights of Thneedville.
Ted glanced back at the walled city, and chuckled nervously. "Yeah… I'm, uh… I'm actually looking for the, um…the Once-ler."
The woman's deep-green eyes widened a moment, before the smile appeared once again. "What's your name, child?"
"It's, ah…" He stopped to clear his throat. "It's Ted."
"Ted." She repeated. "Well, I'm surprised you're out looking for Oncie. Not many know who he is nowadays."
Ted raised a brow. 'Oncie'? "So… Does that mean you know who he is?"
The woman nodded. "I do. I remember him back when tree covered this entire valley." She waved a hand out to the barren, stump-covered valley, and Ted looked out to it as well. "I'm Mattie, by the way."
He turned back to the old woman—turned back to Mattie. "S-So, Mattie… What do you know about the Once-ler?"
Mattie let out a sigh. "He wanted to sell his thneeds, and the thneeds were made of Truffula trees." She turned to Ted. "Now, I loved those Truffula trees; they're the reason why I've lived here for so long. But, Ted…when Oncie came here, everything seemed to go wrong." Once again, Ted raised a brow as the old woman rhymed. "Even I thought something good would come from him, but he only made this valley bare and dim."
"The Once-ler did all this?" He asked, turning to look at the tree stumps around Mattie's house.
She nodded, and leaned back in her chair. "He did… And once the Truffula trees were gone, only then did he seem to realize his mistake."
Mattie was then silent, her eyes slipping shut. Ted blinked, and gently stepped onto the first wooden step of her porch, reaching a hand out to nudge the old woman to see if—
"Ted!"
"Waaah!" He fell backwards when Mattie suddenly leaned forward.
"Maybe you can help Oncie; you're going to see him anyway." She said rather quickly, brushing a light-gray hair from her face. "Maybe you can help him believe that someone cares about the trees again."
"Wait, what? Why me?"
"Because unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better." She leaned back in her seat, a soft sigh leaving her lips. "It's not…"
As Mattie turned her head to glance off somewhere, smiling softly at something she seemed to be remembering, Ted moved to get back on his motorbike. It was late enough already, and he had to hurry and find the Once-ler. "Well… I guess I can try to help, Mattie."
The old woman blinked, moving out of her small daze, before she nodded. "You're a kind boy, Ted. I know you'll be the change Oncie needs."
Ted gave her a soft smile before he nodded and quickly sped away. Mattie watched as the boy's figure was soon engulfed by the fog, and she leaned back in her chair with a smile. Her hand reached for the daisy pendant around her neck, and her fingers grazed the empty spot where a circular gem would have been. "Please…" She whispered. "Please let him help you, Oncie." Mattie's eyes slid shut once again, and a sweet sigh fell from her as she began to reminisce.