Chapter Two (Part 1) : The Street Of The Lifted Lorax
Right when the last Truffula tree fell, all the forrest's animals took their leave and The Lorax lifted himfelf away by the seat of his pants. Or rather, The Once-ler lifted him away, all because of his greed. There were no more trees, not one. Not even in town. The only piece of nature can be found miles and miles away, and even that can't right The Once-ler's wrongs.
The last few tuffs left from the Truffula trees, now exctinct, was used to produce the few last Thneeds. Once smoke stopped coming from the big factory, the world went crazy. The best invention ever made by human kind will no longer be produced. But the loss hurted more the citizens of Thneedville than anyone else. The whole towns's economy depended on the Thneeds. Nearly half of the town was employed in Thneed factories or stores. The Thneed factory made the town a landmark. But now, you may as well count it out of the map.
That week, thousands of workers came back home, their last paychecks of $4,125 on their hands and a frown on their faces. What were they going to do now? Many had quit their jobs and sold their businesses because of the "Thneed dream". Although, many still had enough savings to move out of town or even to stay. But that wasn't the town's biggest problem either.
Once the factory closed down the citizens of Thneedville snapped into reality. They noticed how much polluted the water and air was. Many were becoming sick now. The pollution was beyond repair now. Only trees could save them. But there wasn't any. Many used their Thneeds and wrapped them around their noses. The sweet smell of butterflies and milk blocked out the smell of smoke and it provided them with a more fresh air, although it still wasn't the same. As for the water, The Once-ler had already had built pipe systems that brought in water from nearby cities so he could use the river in the valley for his own purposes.
Still, The Once-ler remained popular in town. They still treated him like a king, for now. But while the people saw that happy public figure, deep down within him, he was hitting concrete.
Chapter Two (Part 2) : How Bad It Came To Be
-Once-ler POV-
Six months ago, I was at the top of the world. But now, I am the poorest excuse of a human being. I had messed up everything. My life, my family, my friends... and the forest. Yet, it all felt like yesterday. It felt like yesterday that he last warned me about the damage I was causing. It felt like yesterday that I ignored his warning. But it was six months ago, the same night the Lorax lifted himself by the seat of his pants. Why didn't I listened? Now here I was, all alone. Everyone has left me. Peace has left me. I couldn't sleep. Nightmares plagued me every night, each replaying that ill-fated night.
A week after my downfall my family left me with half of what I owned, or so they thought. I only allowed them access to one third of my money. I knew from the begining that that was what they wanted, but I was blinded by how much I loved them, too much to just forget about them and wanted to make them happy. At least they were kind, or filled, enough to just take half of what they could've. It still hurt me to see them leave. I always loved them, despite the abuse and lack of care they showed me, I still loved them very much.
My family weren't the only ones to leave me. Mrs. Funce-ler left too. She left with her husband who found work at another company. I mourned her departure too. She was my first love and I would've married her if it weren't for Mr. Funce-ler. But I guess she is better off with him than me. At least he isn't a monster.
But I don't blame any of them for leaving me or hating me. I hate myself after all.
When I watched all the animals leave and The Lorax ascend into the sky, everything The Lorax told me about myself just slapped me in the face. I ran towards my office and cried for God knows how much. I threw and punched anything that was in my way, took off my suit and just layed there on the floor,crying and cursing my self. There was no money in the world that could bring back what I lost that night. I cried myself to sleep, instead of bringing me some peace, nightmares multiplied my grief. That was something a Thneed could't fix.
These days I just lay around my office, wishing I were dead. I went back to writting and playing music, something I left a while ago. I use it as a way to escape reality and fight my growing depression. I sing about anything that bothered me. What bothered me the most was that word The Lorax left that night. Unless. Now every day, I sit and wonder "What does it mean?"
"Even the darkest night will end
and the sun will rise"
-Victor Hugo
I don't usually do things like Part 1 and 2 of a chapter is just because I either transitioned from points of views or just couldn't decide between titles :P Anyway this is the first story I write for this website and the my first fan fiction story I have ever written. Hopefully you like it and we are about to meet our leading lady...