Disclaimer: I own none of this...

This whole day had been a complete and utter waste of time. It was not worth all of the precious seconds it held to make up its structure. The Once-ler sighed, ready to call it day as he laid a hand on his sleek green foreign car. It really was something if he said so himself. The paint was one of a kind in Thneedville. It was a deep green but instead of white highlights shining on the chassis there were pitch black shadows. Some weird scientific explanation about how color reacts to absorb and reflect light. All the Once-ler could remember was that it looked sexy. This color contrast only accentuated the soft dipping curves of the new model firebird. It had cost a fortune and had only escalated in value since he went under, but that price was chump change to him ever since he built up his business empire.

The Once-ler climbed into the car to regard the building he was leaving behind. Rich marble pillars provided more than extravagant support for the golden domed roof. They also announced the allegiances of the owners to wealth and power. They now had sculptures depicting their largest patron. O'Hare stood tall and proud in newer marble than the rest of the columns, it was surely reconstructed when the Once-ler himself fell from power. The statue of O'Hare was much bigger than the man was said to be in person but he was as distant as ever. O'Hare had an extensive network of loyalties but even the most steadfast citizen was able to be bought out, the only question was whether the black and green lanky form desired the information enough to part with his vast resources. Even his fortune was not limitless. Still, regardless of the large number of greased palms, information about O'Hare's whereabouts was still as difficult as ever to come by. With his absence, the Once-ler had no more leads to Ted. The secretary had disappeared and no one in the city had a clue as to where she went. It was almost like she left the city but the Once-ler knew there was nothing out there left for her. She just disappeared with her car, like she was never there. What was worse was that Erin O'Hare, one of the Once-ler's most knowledgeable new allies, had not even heard of the boy. At least, she acted as though she did not. The Once-ler knew that she was still under the impression that she could lie to him and get away with it. He idly debated how long it might take the self-thought man-eater to realize that she had been defeated. She, like so many before her, had such an inflated inclination that she could best any opponent to come up against her. Too bad that notion was an illusion.

Long soft green fabric fingers tapped in mock impatience. The Once-ler debated putting to use his purchase of the day, a renewal of a vice he picked up long ago, in his prime, but declined the indulgence. He would reward himself when he found the kid or destroyed O'Hare. He sat back against the black leather interior of his vehicle. His plan had been running so smoothly at first but now there were just so many unknowns floating about. Where were all of those important players in the heat of the games? Where was the kid? Something tugged at his memory and he finally allowed himself to let the itch in the back of his mind surface. Why were the citizens of Thneedville reacting so bizarrely to his return to the city? Most had no idea who the Once-ler had been. Then others recognized the name or the look of him before showing extreme confusion. It was as though the city itself could not decide whether it remembered his era or shunned it out of existence. No matter how the citizens attempted to vanquish the memory, it was not going anywhere. Too much evidence remained of the sin. This idea was enough to elicit a chuckle from the black haired man as he shifted his car into drive. Still, so much to do.

The drive from the bank to his hotel was not a particularly lengthy one but The Once-ler detoured along a new path every drive to see more of his old domain. This time he drove blindly in the direction of brightly colored buildings he now knew were referred to MCD. This was the middle class's district, the place they lived, worked, and died. At first he was surprised at the evolution of the town segregating its districts into social classes but now it seemed a logical course of action. The city had taken well to one of nature's cardinal principals. Now only those willing to fight were successful. Some bright whimsical structures that the Once-ler vaguely recognized melted away to larger vibrant abominations that he could not place. They were all built up on well-manicured lawns of fake foliage. Unnatural plastic greens jarred blue eyes as they moved in to crash harshly against tomato reds and blues the Once-ler had only ever seen in paints. Yellows, pinks, oranges, and purples also sprouted out of the 'lawns' to create nauseating spectacles that proved a new era of human torture devices had dawned. Due to the too crisp colors, it took the driving man longer than usual to recognize what these structures purpose was. These were a chain of group homes for elder citizens of Thneedville. Out on the nearly iridescent patches of faux grass were people in wheel chairs, using walkers, and struggling with canes. Some were accompanied by help in varying colored scrubs while others trekked or sat in their own lonesome haze. This could have been him as he aged if he had never broken his promise to the walking moustache. No unwrinkled face appeared without a medical uniform beneath it. If he had not cut down all of those trees, he would be locked away in an emphasized solitude just as these folks were. At least he had chosen his banishment; these people had been cast aside by society as their usefulness faltered. Even those clumped together must realize that they were just a selective collection of the rejects the city had disposed of.

A slight cracking noise shocked the man from his reverie. He was clenching gloved fists around the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were popping. The Once-ler was unable to place this nearly overwhelming feeling he felt. These people were nothing to him, just as they were to everyone else. Why were they igniting this foreign emotion in him? He sped away causing many of the seniors to jump out of their stupor at the sharp high pitched sound of rubber screeching against the asphalt. He could not get away from that place fast enough. With no direction in mind, he allowed the car to choose its own route and soon found him being dragged to previously unexplored areas by late afternoon traffic. His driving slowed as roads became more congested and residential areas broke apart into vacation areas. Signs advertising skiing and swimming took over. The billboards came more frequently on this road but on oddity that caught the Once-ler's eye was a woman.

This woman gave him an uneasy feeling as he pulled over on the side of the road to peer curiously at her unseen. She was huddled right below a sign showing a go cart racing track. Her head of closely cropped white ringlets were dingy now, in a nearly browned tan color though the Once-ler knew they were truly gray. She was curled into herself in a defeated manner wearing a once peach dress and pumps. Her form was unmoving in the sludge puddle that covered most cement in the area. That strange feeling overcame the Once-ler again as he glared at her growing form. He gave a start when he found himself standing above her quivering body, not realizing that he even approached the woman until her was crouching over her. "Hey…" What was he supposed to say to the only hobo in the city?

Too familiar brown eyes looked up at him through free flowing tears. Her face trembled with a mixture of the cold, wet, and terror. Her pale chapped bleeding lips parted to allow a string of uncontrollable hacking to escape the depths of her lungs as her body vainly tried to rid itself of toxins taken in on the streets. Tears threatened to escape blue-gray eyes as they took in an older female semblance of their lover. It was apparent that the woman was trying to speak to him but her ruined body was incapable of the task. He collected her from the unforgiving carpet of brownish-gray-green sludge to usher her grimy body into his pristine firebird. A myriad of coughing and grunted out incomprehensible words made up the soundtrack to his race to the hospital.

What might have been a long wait was cut down by an axe of green bills. Money thrown around soon had Helen Wiggins back to nearly perfect health despite a small rasp that the Once-ler was assured would disappear in a few short days. She was a lively lass, he determined in the longer than necessary drive back to the hotel, under her direction of course. As she spoke about how lovely the city was and her fondest memories about any spot really, all doubt about this woman being related to Ted died away. Some of his more subdued mannerisms shone through when she braked from her wild outbursts that seemed to take up most of her speech. The way her eyes lit up reminded the Once-ler of the morning he served Ted pancakes. Both Wiggins showed this same unquenchable joy at such simple things. For Ted those were food apparently, but for his mother, it was the boy. She spoke fondly of his childhood, of aspirations, and how he was the most celebrated guest to ever arrive at her community home. Sometimes she got quite after mentioning the group living compartments but others she seemed to think that was where they were headed. The Once-ler did not need to wonder about this woman losing her sharpness with age.

Raised eyebrows were all the pair got as they entered the ornate hotel, no objections. Her state of advance filth was note definitely but he was such a distinguished guest that no one had the courage to speak up about it. She was positively giddy about being in such a lavish environment that her constant chatter made a green hatted head ponder if her full voice would overwhelm the already raspy ranting filled space. They entered the elevator and praise of the interior of the previously inaccessible building continued up all the way to the top floor much to the dismay of another pair of guests, an older woman and her fit youthful companion. Dreamy comments about the aviary made the jeweled woman roll her eyes as her tight jeaned companion arched an eyebrow. Apparently, these two did not know how to recognize fine company when they saw it. Just a few floors after the two judging people left the elevator, the Once-ler gestured his guest into the penthouse.

There were still quite a few daylight hours but the black haired man directed the elderly woman to the marble tub intending her to bathe and rest for the rest of the day and quite possibly the night. She, on the other hand, had other plans. Her energetic voice filled the rooms with echoes of life much more realistically vibrant than the colors in MCD. "He had such a huge crush on her. I thought she broke his heart when the announcement came onto the television and he stopped showing up for visits. But then he did show up. Yes he did! He showed up and I knew he was going to be alright. He showed up better than ever! Yes he did," The Once-ler was not surprised that Ted was interested in a girl before the two of them became involved. What did surprise him, however, was that he had liked the same girl since he was a child. She continued talking about her son's pitiful love life as she dried a now snowy mess of curls wearing a fluffy pink bathrobe. "I thought it was love. We all did! But that girl wanted something more than love. She wanted a tree of all things and for a time, Ted was determined to get her one. He even left the city once looking for one because of Mom. Could you imagine, leaving the city to look for something as ridiculous as a tree? Oh, but Mom believed! She went on and on-"

"Excuse me, did you say trees?" Ted had come to him as a child to woo his love and he had denied him.

"Oh, yes! Ted left Thneedville and everything. Plastic knows what he found out there but he got in so much trouble that there was no way he could get out again. I saw to that!" How could this woman be so proud to ruin her son's chances with the girl he loved? How could she be so proud of denying the town the possibility of new trees? How could Helen be so proud of keeping Ted away from the Once-ler all those years ago?

The proud woman sipped her tea and began sorting medicines to assist her certain recovery, oblivious to the stunned man beside her.

No proofreading again. Happy Mother's day! ^.^