Disclaimer - I don't own The Lorax or its soundtrack. Copyright to Dr Seuss and Illuminations Entertainment.

Lead The World And Heal Tomorrow

The next morning, I was awake early. I couldn't sleep, knowing this could be the day I finally fixed my mistakes. But it could also be the day I completely gave up. I sat looking out the window at UNLESS, waiting for Ted to arrive. At least, hoping he would. I gazed wistfully at the engraving in the stone, still asking myself what it meant. It almost felt like I already knew, like it was something I'd been telling myself this whole time. What was it I was looking for exactly? What did I want? What had I always wanted, from the very beginning?

I only wanted someone to care.

I turned and looked at the items that still sat on the table. 15¢, a nail, and a great-great-great grandfather snail.

If Ted wasn't that someone, I'd give up. Nothing would get better.

* UNLESS *

I was still sat at the window when I heard the sound of Ted's scooter approaching. It slowed and stopped and he emerged from the fog, carrying a small pink bag with him. Is that…?

"Hey, I'm back!"

But I had more important things to think about than replying. "What've you got there?" When I saw, I let out a small excited yelp and clapped my hands. "Haha, yes!"

Marshmallows!

Thinking quickly, I took hold of the whisper-ma-phone and pushed it down to him. He easily figured out what I was doing and poured a few into the funnel, and I sucked them up. I hadn't eaten anything in years, let alone marshmallows. And they tasted sweeter and fluffier than I remembered.

"Thanks, Ted…" I mumbled through chewing and held up a hand telling him to wait a moment. Then, feeling much better, I launched straight into the story.

"Now, picture this. Sun shining. A blue sky. A perfect day," I began, "It was all downhill from there.

"I was in my cottage when I heard the horn on my family's RV and I came outside just as they pulled up. All the animals came to see what was happening, since they'd never seen any kind of vehicle before. Pipsqueak was hiding behind me and the Lorax was at my side. Everyone came out one by one; my Aunt Grizelda, my brothers, the twins Brett and Chet, who decided to try playing football with a bar-ba-loot. My Uncle Ubb, and, of course, my mother. And as soon as she saw me she was praising me, showing me the affection she'd never shown me before. I wasn't prepared for that. I wasn't used to that at all."

Oncie, is that you?

Mom…!

There he is! There's my big, suddenly successful son. We always knew you'd make it, Oncie. Right?

Hey! I love this guy!

But you always said I wouldn't amount to anything, remember…?

Oh, hush your mouth, I was just tryin' to motivate you.

I am really glad that you clarified that because that actually hurt my feelings for a really long time.

"The twins got the RV set up and we were about to get to work when the Lorax saw it. And he wasn't happy about them staying there in his forest with me. He told them they had to go, and that almost started a fight between him and my aunt. I managed to break it up and introduced him, but he still wasn't havin' it."

This is my family! And I'm gonna need their help if my company's gonna get bigger. OK?

Bigger?

Yeah! This isn't just some rinky-dink operation anymore. I got plans. Big plans! A vision… of a world filled with thneeds! It's gonna be huge!

… Which way does a tree fall?

Uh, down?

A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.

"He walked away after that. We rarely talked. We just went about our own business and didn't bother each other. I started making plans for the factory while the others harvested the tufts from the trees. I was still keeping my promise. But then they convinced me to chop down the trees again. I had my brothers do it. I thought I'd found a loophole there - I wasn't the one chopping 'em down, so I wasn't breaking my promise. But then when I was relaxing in my cottage, strumming my guitar with a baby swomee swan keeping me company, the Lorax came back. He tried to warn me again…"

Hey, you broke your promise! You're better than this. Ya gotta stop. This is bad!

"But again, I didn't listen to him. And Aunt Grizelda just picked him up and flung him away."

Bad? I'm not bad, I'm the good guy here. He just doesn't get it. Do you think I'm bad?

QWAK!

Thank you. I mean, something good finally happens to me and… he just has to come along and rain on my parade. What's his problem?

QWAK!

See? Yeah, bad, right…

"I just let it happen. I only thought about my own success. Money. Fame. My mother's love and pride. We were selling thneeds left and right. The factory was built. I had PR people, lawyers, everything. A new suit, a new guitar. I stopped caring about the Lorax. I stopped caring about the animals. And I never really cared that I was killing the trees at all. My family, the people who doubted me my whole life, were working for me. I got too full of myself. I didn't think to replant the trees. I didn't do anything to stop the pollution. I didn't see any of it. I only saw what I wanted to see. It didn't last long. I lost it all in just five years. The Lorax had been trying to talk to me the whole time, but I took every precaution to keep him from entering the factory. But not long after Greenville was renovated into Thneedville, there he was on my balcony. I got mad at him. I drove him back outside, telling him he couldn't stop my progress. That nothing would stop it. Then the last tree fell. The very last Truffula tree of them all. That was the first time I really looked at what was going on. At what I had done. My family left me, the Lorax sent away all the animals, and then he just… lifted himself off up into the sky. And where he'd stood, he left that." I gestured to UNLESS.

Ted turned to look at the rocks. He slowly walked over to read the word carved into its side. Then he lifted his head to me again.

"So this is really all your fault," he said, "You've… destroyed everything."

"Yes," I lowered my head, "And each day since the Lorax left I've sat here regretting everything I've done. Staring at that word… 'Unless'… A-and wondering what it meant. But now I'm thinking… Well, maybe you're the reason the Lorax left that word there."

"Me? Why would he leave that for me?"

I had spent years trying to decipher the meaning behind that one word, but as I was waiting that morning, I had realized I was right. I had known it all along.

"Because unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better," I turned away, "It's not…"

This was it. I pulled open the drawer and soon found it, nestled in a corner, then held it out in between the boards. I was scared for a moment, gripping it tightly, before I turned my hand over and dropped it. Ted reached out and caught it, carefully picking it up between his thumb and forefinger.

"The last Truffula seed. You need to plant it, Ted."

"Yeah, but…" he furrowed his brow and looked up at me, "Nobody cares about trees anymore."

"Then make them care. Plant the seed in the middle of town where everyone can see."

Please.

"Change the way things are."

You need to.

"I know it may seem small and insignificant, but it's not about what it is. It's about what it can become. That's not just a seed, any more than you're just a boy."

He seemed to consider it before he curled his fingers around the seed protectively and made his way back to his scooter. He strapped on his helmet and revved up the engine."

"I won't let you down."

He drove off down the hill back towards Thneedville. Although I knew he wouldn't hear me, I wanted to reassure myself.

"… I know."