Smoke and Smog Part 5

It was a clear, quiet, night and Once-ler walked along the edge of the forest.  Yes there was still a forest; still room for everyone to live happily.  Sure there were a few more stumps now, but there were still plenty of trees to go around.  Why was the Lorax always harping on him?  Always looking disappointed in him for finally being successful?

All those pesky thoughts were driven from his mind though as he turned around the edge of a hillside and saw a familiar figure standing there in the moonlight.

"Dad?"

The man looked over at him, his smile bright and wide.

"Look at you, Once-ler, you're a real champ now."

He came over to his youngest son.  Once-ler gawked at him, looking at the grey slacks, the white shirt, and the flat grey hat that had been his trademark outfit.  It was all so far removed from the tailored black pants, silk green jacket, and large top hat that Once-ler wore.  

"I'm so proud of you, Champ, making a good honest living like this."

Once-ler felt his insides squirm with guilt.

"Right, honest."

"You're breaking your promise!  This is bad!"

In an instant his dad was gone and all the trees were gone too.  The clear sky was marred by thick clouds of black smoke, the grass wiped away under rumbling wheels of the tree choppers.

A familiar RV was in front of him and the window rolled down.

"Oncie, you have let me down.  Brett, you are now my favourite child."

The RV drove off and Once-ler stood alone in the world as the animals started surrounding him.

"Look, I-I don't want any trouble."

He backed away from the crowd of animals.  Tripping over the tails of his coat he fell backwards into the river.  The black sludge the now made up the once clear fresh water covered his arms and legs and dragged him under.

"No, no!  I'm sorry!"

His eyes flew open and Once-ler found himself in his bathtub, that was half filled with cold water, stripped down to nothing but his heart print boxer shorts.  Norma was running a damp cloth over his face, and the animals had crowded into the tiny space and were watching anxiously.

"W-What happened?"

"It's all right it's just a minor relapse.  These things happen sometimes, that's why I'm here.  Everything's going to be fine."

When she was satisfied with his condition Norma dried him off and got him back into bed.  Meanwhile the Lorax piled up blankets and pillows around him.

"Moustache, you don't have to do all-"

The Lorax glared at him and he promptly shut up.

"I thought I told you not to scare me like this."

"Sorry."

Once-ler sighed and let his body go limp against the pillows, remembering his dream, nightmare really.  He hadn't thought of his dad in so long, but now…his dad had been a good honest man why had he died from this and his rotten excuse for a son hadn't?   

"Maybe it's just better like this though."

The Lorax looked ready to punch him and Norma gasped. "Oncie, don't say that!"

"Well it's true!  Why should I get anything less after doing that?!" he shouted, gesturing out the window to the empty hills.

"It wasn't just you, you know."

"Of course it was!  I broke my promise and let them do it!"

Norma folded her arms across her chest in defiance.

"And are we all just a bunch of lemmings that do everything because you say so?"

Once-ler blinked at her. "Huh?"

Slowly she came over and sat down next to him on the bed, taking his hand in hers.

"Look, Once-ler, yes you let your company do all that, but if your employees cared enough about the trees they would have gone on strike until you changed your policies.  What about all of us who bought thneeds and demanded that you make more?  Sure they were some people who protested, but most of us thought they were crazy.  That the damage couldn't possibly be as bad as they said it was."  Norma sighed, looking out the window at where miles and miles of Truffula trees once stood. "It's so easy to ignore a problem when you don't have to look at it every day."

Once-ler kissed her cheek and whispered softly.

"Hey it's not all bad.  You were using them to help people; unlike that guy who was using them to make the world's biggest slingshot."

Norma giggled. "Yeah, that was pretty stupid.  But if I'm not all bad than you aren't either, and you need to stop beating yourself up over this.  It happened and you can't change that now, but you are doing your best to make things right and no one can ask for anything more."

"She's right, Kid."

"I guess."

Norma snuggled closer to him running her fingers through his hair.

"You know what we should do?"

"What?" he asked.

"We should plant one of the saplings right in the middle of town.  Right in the park where everyone can see it and be reminded about what we all almost lost, so we won't let it happen again."

Once-ler nodded and buried his head against her shoulder.  It was awkward, because he was a good foot taller than she was, and yet it was also very sweet.

"That sounds like a great idea."