I'd like to thanks people like 10degrees for inspiring my story and Saphirabrightscale for being the first to favorite/follow my story and follow me.

Chapter Four: This Was The Place

-Once-ler POV-

A few weeks ago I started a tradition of my own. I would walk around the valley weeping and lamenting everyday. I would walk around the whole place thinking about all the memories I had there. I remembered when I first got here. I was singing a song while the forest critters followed suit and sung along.

This is it! This is the place! It's bound to have just what I need. I wanna hold it all in one big embrace. I sometimes played the melody between tears in my office. When I sung insted I said 'This was the place'. These days there is just no hopeor happiness.

Today I did my rounds of mourning again. I expected to be alone, again. But what I did't know was that today I had a date with fate.

Chapter Four (1/2): The Adventure

-Marilyn POV-

I woke up today. A full plan hatched in my head. I showerd, brushed my curly blonde hair and put on my polka dot light blue dress. I headed downstairs and ate brekfast.

"Good morning Marilyn" Norma greeted me.

"Morning" I said. "Um Norma, I wanted to ask... if I could, um, walk Mops today?" I asked. Mops was Norma's sweet little pug. Of course it was all an excuse to head over to the valley. Mother would have a fit if she found out I went, so I decided to go in secret. But Norma was to smart, she suspected something. She was like a mind reader. But she agreed anyway.

Norma warned me to wear a scarf to cover my face. Once outside I became aware that I was a complete outsider. Every one, everywhere I saw, was wearing one of those Thneeds thingies. It was as if they were branded somehow.

The trip was amazing. I got to see some of the town. It didn't have much nature (or none at all) but It had the most breath taking buildings I had ever seen. The town had everything from hospitals to malls and schools. It was amazing! Whoever designed these buildings is really talented.

When I finally arrived at the valley it was a sorry sight. I slowed down my pace at walked down a road. Cars passed down these roads, I could tell because they were really wide. As I walked further down the road I came across these weird machines with four axes spiraling in the front. These must be what was used to cut down the trees. Four trees down per every five seconds. Wow.

While I examined the machines, Mops managed to take off his collar and run away while barking at nothing but the darkness. I ran after him. The chase went down for over a minute until I suddenly bumped into something. Well, someone actually. Before I knew I was rolling down a hill interwined with a stanger who was taking hold of my waist as down we went. I was freaking out. My thoughts were in between fear of death and fear of having some stranger slip his hand further down from my waist. Maybe I was a little over dramatic about the death part, all we did was land safely at the end of the hill. As soon as we stopped we pulled apart from each other.

"Owww..." the stranger complained. I sat up and inspected myself. A few scratches in my arms and legs, twigs in my hair and dirt on my dress. I also had scratches in my face, my lip was bleeding and I lost a shoe. Great. I turned around and saw the stranger slowly getting up and sweep the dirt off of his impressively fancy, yet disheveled, suit. He didn't seem at all happy.

I got up by myself. Geez you'd think a gentleman would help me up. Well, I did bump into him and send him rolling down a hill after all, but still. I stumbled a little which grabbed his attention but I manage to take hold of myself. I grabbed my scarf, wich was now covered by mud and turned to face the stranger. He was really tall (like 6 feet or something), skinny and... green. He just looked at me waiting for... what exactly.

"Um sorry." I simply said looking down shyly. He just stood there for a while and turned around. Wow, rude! I just stood there like an idiot watching him pick up something that looked like a hat. That was one heck of a hat. Apparently it went rolling down with us too.

He didn't leave though. It was as if he expected me to say something more than sorry. So I just foolishly introduced myself.

"Um hi, my name is Marilyn" I extended my hand for him to shake. He just stared at it. What a strange guy. I was about to put my hand away until he suddenly shook it.

"I am new in town, just came in yesterday from Southville." I said. It took me a great deal of confidence to say that. He looked as if he finally understood something.

"I'm The Once-ler" he said indifferently. Was that a title of some sort? I wanted to laugh but I didn't wanted to be rude so I just smiled and nodded. Now that I looked at him closely I noticed he was quite handsome. He had blue eyes, like mine but his were lighter, a cute snub nose, freckles and black thick hair that framed his round face perfectly. When he caught me examining him I quickly darted my eyes downward and backed away.

"I better go find my dog" I waved good bye and turned around. He did too and we both walked away from each other. As I went uphill I found my missing shoe and turned around to see if The Once-ler guy was out of view, but he was there, also looking at me. I waved again and kept walking.

When I finnaly got to the top of the hill I found Mops there waiting for me. "You little rascal." I said to him but he just licked my hand. Aw I couldn't stay mad at him. I put his collar back on him and walked home.

On our way home I passed by a magazine stand. I normally don't read magazines but what was interestig about it was that in the The Once-ler was on the cover. What is more intresting was that it wasn't just any gossipy magazine, it was a Forbes magazine. I took one and skimmed through it, before it's vendor came crazy at me telling me I had to pay I managed to catch something about 'millions' and 'Thneeds'. Who was this guy?

I came home, took a shower and got dressed quickly. Then I helped Norma prepare dinner. We talked about anything. Norma was good at carrying conversetions. When I talked to her I didn't have to pretend, talk properly or worry about what to say. I just said what I thought and she did also. She was really fun to talk to. And so we beame best friends.

In dinner I couldn't hold my curiosity and out of nowhere I just asked "Do any of you know who The Once-ler is?"

Norma and Adam just looked surprised. Great, awkward dinner two days in a row. Adam finally spoke up "He is that greedy industrialist we told you about yesterday. He is also the mayor of the town." he simply explained.

"Why, have you met him dear?" Norma asked.

"No, not at all, I just heard people talk about him and was curious." I answered. I was a bad liar. Or maybe Norma was a lie detector. I could tell she knew by the way she studied me. She didn't look angry. She actually smiled.

After dinner I went back to my room. In my PJ's and a warm cup of chocolatte milk with marshmallows I started to think about The Once-ler, reflecting on our meeting and what Adam informed me.

Norma sneeked in my room and strartled me. She was so tiny I did't noticed her getting in.

"Oh hi." I said. "Tell, tell, tell." She said both happy and demanding.

"What?" I pretended not to know what she talked about but it was useless. She knew and I know I can trust her. And so I told her everything. My adventure and my awkward meeting with The Once-ler. We laughed together and started to wonder what he might have thought about me. Norma was all I ever wanted to be. She was smart, funny, confident what was happily in love. Norma said good night and went to sleep. I was too tired to read and so I lay down to sleep after writing a little in my diary. All night I thought about him. I was interested. I wasn't in love with him or anything. I just wanted to know what drove him to become who he was. Somewhere in my heart I knew that there was more to his life than what was on a magazine or what people thought. He was a human, and I had to see him again.

"People do make mistakes and I think they

should be punished. But they should be

forgiven and given the opportunity for a

a second chance. We are human beings"

- David Millar

So what did you think? Hopefully you like the character of Marilyn and also the Norma I sort of created. Let me know if she is a little too annoying. Adam doesn't say much because every time I give him a line it's either boring, repetitive or against The Once-ler, yeah he was pro Truffula. Marilyn's family is sort of silent for now but they will play a really important role later on. Oh, and am I making The Once-ler sad and depressed enough, or maybe too much? And I strongly recommend for you to listen to "This Is The Place" from The Lorax Soundtrack, not the movie version but the other longer version, so that you have an idea of how Once was singing.