Well here it is everyone, the last installment! This will officially be my first completed story and I have to say I'm quite proud of myself for pulling through to the end. Though I wouldn't be surprised if I found myself re-writing the first half of the story, script writing may have been a safe route at that time but I feel confident that I can make it more creative...while still keeping the elements in there of course.

~~~~Response to the Readers!~~~~

Guest 1: Lol I'm glad you liked the action scenes! I had to do a lot of re-reading of those scenes, mostly because I actually fall behind on the pace of said scenes.

yapook: And to think, I thought the action scenes would be the weakest part of my writing, haha! Yeah I always got the impression that Ted was an extremely smart kid, but like most kids he just wants to do his own thing, have fun and be lazy...like a kid. But when he really has to, he's pretty sharp.

Guest 2: Hehe, yeah the end in the movie where O'Hare's two guards turned on him and used his jet pack to rocket him out of the city was pretty inspiring for my story. Showing that they weren't just drones like they seemed in the beginning and instead they had their own opinions; their own voice.

Anonymous: Curse those pesky...yet very crafty spelling errors! Always taunting me! I'll have to look back on that and change it. Also, so glad you love the story!

Effralyo: I had a lot of fun writing those scenes, mostly because we didn't get to see enough of it in the movie(or at least I didn't feel like I had a good fill of it). I'm happy you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Invader Kiwi: I'm sad too! Heck for over a year I've been writing and brainstorming on this story, and now that it's over it feels...weird. Though it's true that good stories come to an end, that doesn't mean more good stories will follow... :D

AngetianPrincess18: Thank you! I know we're going to be very happy! And I'm glad you liked the chapter...heck the whole story! Thank YOU for being one of my readers from the very beginning to the very end!

Sora Matasuki: Hehe, Once-ler still has a ways to go but he's off to a great start! And of course the Lorax has to be involved, especially in a spiritual sense; it gives the impression that he is a mystical deity that is aware about everything, even if he isn't there physically.

Lanny-Sama: Haha! Yeah, the cardboard cutout was really amusing! Though I feel like it wasn't expressed enough in the story, to me it felt like it was just put in there...and that was it. I still like it, but I feel like I can do better with it. I am truly happy with my idea of the Once-ler and the tree/valley fusing together, I was honestly surprised that no one has come up with the idea prior! Eventually the idea consumed my rational thinking to the point where I had no choice but to type it all down and well...here it is.

kerolunatica: Thank you! :D

IfIHadANickel: Wow *blush* I don't know how to respond except...thank you! I'm glad you like my view on the Once-ler's personality, I was afraid it might have been too confusing. When I watched the movie, yeah he was self-centered narcissist but then when his family came into the picture and how they treated him, I started to think...'I wonder if that's the Once-ler's true personality or a personality that his family's toxic upbringing created?' So I put that theory into my story, where that toxic personality is conflicting with his true personality; which was caring, selfless, providing, etc. I'm so glad you liked my story and my writing! I hope not to disappoint you in the future!

Guest 3: Haha! I've done that before! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

KTDLover: I'm glad you liked it! I hope you enjoy this awesome epilogue too!

pikaace: Aww thank you so much! That makes me happy to hear that!

I just like to say to all of you(though I probably did in individual responses, but this message needs special attention) thank you all so much for you feedback, critiques and support! I'll shed some personal honesty, I was extremely self conscious about putting this up, mostly because I'm just simply afraid that people would hate it. But you guys completely turned that around for me! Not only did everyone seem to love it and demand more, but others wanted to put my story on community archives and some wanted to write their own stories based on my universe! The fact that others liked it so much that it sparked creativity to make their own pieces really makes me happy!

Alright, enough of me babbling, ENJOY!

The Tree with a Tongue

Epilogue: Brand new dawn

You would think it was just another typical beautiful morning in Thneedville; a morning where the O'Hare air delivery guy came to every house with a new daily shipment of fresh air, a morning where families have kissed their loved ones goodbye before they went on their merry way to work.

So….yeah, it was just another typical morning in Thneedville.

But there was little additional things added to all their routines; like that little girl that had the courage to approach the Once-ler a month ago. The back door to her house burst open, followed by her taking slow paces down the back steps with a full watering can that she struggled to carry.

"Marie, do you want me to help you dear?" Her mother could be heard from inside.

Marie replied cheerfully through her grunts, "I'm okay Mommy."

When she finally got off the last step, she made her way over to the back of their yard while occasionally spilling splotches of water on the plastic ground. The back of their yard was ripped apart, revealing the fresh soil and in the center of all that soil was a Truffula sapling standing strong and proud. Marie placed the watering can down and gently began to tilt it, not wanting to give the baby tree too much water.

The mother couldn't help but laugh lightly at her daughter's efforts outside the kitchen window; she always told Marie it wasn't necessary to fill the watering can all the way since the tree didn't need much water.

After Marie gave her sapling the water it needed, she set it aside and laid down stomach first in front of it. She smiled at the soft pink tuft on top of the shoot; which she noticed there was a little more of it every time.

She was so lucky to get a pink tree, or maybe it wasn't luck at all; the Once-ler was magic after all. But she didn't care about the color of the tree so much; she was looking forward to seeing all the colors of the Truffula one day.

"You're small just like me," she said to the little sapling, "And when I become big, so will you. We'll be growing up together!"

Marie continued to lie in front of the sapling, imagining how tall the tree will become. If you were able to fly above the town of Thneedville, you would be able to see every home with a Truffula tree planted in their backyard, all being or about to be watered by the residents.

o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Ted felt so mortified.

He really missed his bike; he missed doing many tricks on the half pipes at the park, he missed feeling the wind hit his face as he went fast.

Now here he was, riding behind Kyle on his bike while they rode home from school.

Kyle wasn't exactly helping either; though taking Ted home was hardly an issue since they were neighbors, it didn't stop him from poking fun at him at times.

Kyle snickered and looked over his shoulder slightly, "Hang on tight ma'am, we wouldn't want you to fall off."

Ted glared at him as he held back the urge to crush his shoulders with his grip; this was the only way he could hang on, there was no way he was going to wrap his arms around his waist…..

The two finally approached their homes as Kyle slowed to a stop. Ted pushed himself off the bike and faced his friend, "Hey, thanks for volunteering to give me a ride Kyle."

Kyle smiled, "It's no problem." He noticed Ted let out a heavy sigh, "Hey cheer up, you're birthday is getting close."

"Six months is hardly close…." Ted grumbled.

Kyle flinched, "Yeah, guess not….."

Ted gave Kyle a wave as he watched him disappear into the garage of his home. Stupid O'Hare. He recalled the events that led to the destruction of his bike and the incredible lengths that short maniac went to capture the Once-ler.

Ted smiled when he turned heel and approached the front door of his house; despite the loss, he knew it was for a good cause and more importantly none of them got hurt….especially Audrey.

He closed the door behind him, after he dumped his backpack at the nearest corner he turned to walk forward only to be stopped by Norma.

"Oh, hey Grammy."

"Why so glum Ted?" she asked, Ted began to notice her smile was unusually big.

Ted waved off the question, "Eh it's nothing important, just a long day at school." Ted was starting to get creeped out by the fact that Norma's smile hadn't faltered, "Um, is everything okay Grammy?"

"Come into the kitchen Ted."

Ted let out a heavy, yet quiet sigh as he began to follow her; he was sensing a family time moment that his Mom always try to encourage and he was too worn out to go through with one of those, he just wanted to crash and relax in his room.

They walked into the kitchen where he spotted his Mom working on making dinner and the Once-ler was seen at the kitchen table with a glass of water in his hand. Ted was glad to see the Once-ler doing much better; the 'wilted' look he had for awhile had completely dissipated, and now his features looked as vibrant as the other saplings. After the events that happened, the Once-ler originally intended to go back to his Lurkum but all three of the Wiggins, especially Norma didn't like the idea of him going back out there and being by himself, so they insisted that he'd stay with them for the time being, at least until his health improved.

Heck they had that spare bedroom that was never used.

Sure enough, being in sunlight and drinking fresh water all the time had helped the taller man out a lot but Ted was convinced it was more than that; ever since his whole outlook….his faith on people had changed, his recovery was nothing but fast and consistent.

He wondered if it was a tree thing.

Helen turned her head as the two walked in, "Hello Ted, how was school?"

Ted shrugged slightly, "Same old."

Helen took out a can of soda and gave it to him, "Did Kyle give you lift home?"

Ted snapped open the top and nodded, "Yep, just like he does every day." He didn't mean to sound crude but he knew that his mom knew that Kyle gave him a lift home every day.

The three adults in the room seemed to smile at each other, Ted couldn't help but get a little annoyed; he wasn't sure what they were thinking about but all he wanted to do was crash in his room and relax for awhile.

The Once-ler got up and smiled at Ted, "Ted, I never really had a chance to truly thank you for everything you've done to help me."

Ted smirked, "You haven't stopped thanking me since then, in fact I lost count…."

The Once-ler waved his words off, "Eh, words alone didn't feel like enough."

Ted raised an eyebrow, what was the Once-ler getting at?

He continued, "But I think I may have found the best way."

With that, he walked to the back door. He gestured Ted to go out into the backyard first, in which he obliged with a shrug and a sip of his soda.

"Mr. Once-ler, you don't have to keep thanking me, I…." the minute he saw what was in the backyard, he froze in mid step.

The Once-ler smirked, "You sure about that?"

Ted didn't even acknowledge the can of soda that crashed down on the steps in front of him; he was too busy gazing at the shiny new bike that was parked dead in the center of the backyard, the yellow Truffula sapling barely seen planted behind it.

He recognized the model instantly; it was the Streak Rocket MX 350, the most recent model currently for sale. Ted couldn't tell you how many times him and Kyle would stop in front of the bike shop after school and pressed their faces against the front glass window while gazing at the awesome model, he couldn't stress enough on how shiny it was; the sunlight that hit it made it almost blinding.

And it was red….his favorite color.

"H….how…" Ted's tongue tripped on his words as he slowly yet still stumbled towards his new gift, his eyes glued to it, "How did you…..I mean…how can you afford…..?"

Once-ler laughed, "Well a few days ago when I was helping your mother with errands, we stopped at the bank. Turns out I still had the bank account I opened back in the day when I had my Thneed business." He chuckled again when he received a shocked look from Ted, "Who knew right? The dreaded Once-ler having an active bank account in Thneedville. I did put quite a bit of money in there…."

"Not to mention almost eighty years of interest," Norma added with a smirk. Ted whistled in amazement.

The Once-ler's smile turned sincere, "But in all seriousness Ted, your mother told me how much you enjoyed riding and how much that bike meant to you. I felt pretty guilty, but it told me just how much you were willing to risk…..just to help someone like me. So this is my real thanks to you."

What happened next seemed to happen in an instant; the Once-ler wasn't prepared when Ted rushed up to him in a big crushing hug, causing him to stumble back a step. A moment later, the Once-ler smiled as he placed one hand on the boy's shoulder and another on top of his head.

"Thank you Mr. Once-ler." Ted muffled in the taller man's shirt.

The Once-ler tilted his head slightly as he gazed down at him, what was he thanking him for?

He pushed that thought off to the side as Ted released his hug. He dug into his coat pocket and tossed a little key at the preteen, "Go on, give it a test drive."

Ted looked back at the bike and twirled the key ring with his finger, "Oh I will."

He wasted no time at all as he hoped up on the bike and it roared to life. The tire screeched against the plastic ground as he twisted hard on the accelerator; a thrilling look painted on Ted's face.

Helen quickly rushed forward as Ted took off in an instant towards the road, "Ted! TED! THE ROAD!"

The three adults flinched and turned away as Ted swerved out of the way as two cars from both sides of the road slammed on their brakes when a boy on a bike suddenly got in front of them. Riding away from the two angered drivers, Ted waved apologetically, "SORRY! MY BAD!"

The brief guilt faded instantly as he practically flew over the hill, letting out a cheer before he disappeared.

Norma and the Once-ler could only laugh while Helen on the other hand, still hand her hands to her face while she slowly shook it, "That boy is going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Are you sure you can't stay a bit longer?"

The sun was setting over the roofs of the houses in Thneedville, emitting a golden glow in the sky. The Wiggin's family stood in front of their house while the Once-ler stood in front of them.

The Once-ler smiled sadly, "I have to go home eventually Ted."

"Yeah but….."

Helen could practically hear Ted's voice breaking down; he was taking this harder than she thought. The Once-ler had informed them for quite some time that he would be leaving on this day and Ted seemed okay with it at first but as that day got closer, Ted became anxious and more withdrawn while occasionally trying to convince the Once-ler to stay longer, it was during that time that she realized how much the Once-ler had been an influence on Ted. One would think it was obvious that the events with O'Hare have formed a close friendship between the two, but Helen started to suspect that Ted saw a father figure out of the taller man.

It made sense, after all his father had left them when he was barely walking and it wasn't exactly mutual. There was a reason why she didn't have any pictures of him in the house.

"Ted, I have to go back." The Once-ler spoke again, snapping Helen out of her thoughts, "It is my home after all."

Ted gazed down at his shoes, "Yeah, but it's so dark and gloomy out there."

"All the more reason I need to go back. Remember Ted, the valley was bright and beautiful once and now that I know what I'm capable of, it's time for me to help bring back that beauty. It needs me Ted."

Ted sighed, "I know."

The Once-ler patted Ted on the shoulder to snap him out of the funk he put himself in, "Geez, you're acting as if we'll never see each other again. From what you've told me, you went through pretty great lengths to sneak out of town and see me."

Ted almost laughed at the memory, "Yeah, I did."

"And besides, I'll most likely need some help out there; it is a big valley after all."

Ted smiled and nodded, "Of course! Audrey and Kyle will definitely want to help too."

"The more the merrier!"

"I can always give you a lift, it'll be much faster."

The Once-ler laughed as Ted tempted him by dangling his bike key; with his new bike going faster and smoother than his old one, he was itching to drive it at every possible opportunity. Either that or Ted wanted to test his new bike to the dangerous terrain that the valley turned into.

With that thought, the Once-ler raised a palm at him and shook his head, "I think I'll pass Ted. I've had more experience with a motor bike than I could handle; I need a break."

Though Ted couldn't argue with that, it didn't stop him from lowering his keys and pouting.

The Once-ler looked over at the two adults behind Ted and bowed his head politely, "Thank you for letting me stay, I greatly appreciate it."

Helen found herself becoming emotional; she wasn't sure if it was because she's normally teary eyed when it came to goodbyes or it was because she was going to miss having someone help her with her errands and housework.

Not wanting to feel self-centered, she went with the first assumption.

Helen smiled, "Our home is your home. You'll always have a place to stay in Thneedville whenever you come to visit."

"Which will be often I hope," Norma butted in, "No more locking yourself away anymore."

The Once-ler fidgeted, "Well I didn't really have a choice before….."

"Exactly. You won't have an excuse this time, so you better not do it."

"Yes ma'am."

Norma walked up to him slowly, motioning him to crouch down (Help an old lady out). With that she gently wrapped her small arms around him and spoke softly, "I'm so glad I was able to see you again."

A wave of emotion hit the Once-ler's chest, he didn't respond.

"Please take good care of yourself."

"I will," those were the only words he was able to choke out.

When he got back up to his feet, he gazed down at her. Happy eyes met his newly saddened ones; there were still a lot of questions he wanted to ask Norma about, a lot that he felt was….needed to be asked.

But that was for another day.

With that, the only thing left to do was leave. He gave the three a silent wave, turned heel and was on his way towards the entrance of town, the three Wiggins' stood there silently and watched him leave with smiles on their faces. Norma however, frowned as a painful flashback played in her mind; recalling back the when he was in town right before he fell into isolation…..when the residents chased him away.

But when she snapped back to reality, she noticed some of the townsfolk waved at the Once-ler as he passed them by, and the Once-ler awkwardly waving back.

Norma couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes as she smiled; it wasn't going to be like that anymore, things were going to be better. Her memory of seeing him for the first time is still as clear as seeing herself in the mirror, he has gone through so much and yet deep underneath that layer of distrust, he still had a heart of gold.

He was the strongest man Norma has ever met.

"Mom," Helen asked gently, noticing the drying trail of tears on her cheeks, "Are you okay?"

Norma quickly wiped away the tears and cleared her throat, "Of course I'm alright! Well, except starving of course, did you make dinner yet?"

"It's just about ready Mom."

Norma, with her cane, trotted her way past Ted and Helen, "Well hurry up you, I like to have my evening tea before it gets too late."

Helen rolled her eyes with a smile as she guided her son into the house with her.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Ted was never the…..how do you say…elegant sleeper. He could never properly lay on the bed once he was dead to the world; his whole body was diagonal on his stomach with his head completely missing the pillow, his foot stuck out at the lower end of his covers while his left arm dangled over the edge of the bed.

And on top of that, he snored.

It was the middle of the night in Thneedville, and though a lot of the plastic trees were taken down throughout the weeks, those that remained lit up the streets with a soft yellow glow. Ted slept on until his alarm would wake him up for the school the next morning; he was completely oblivious to the figure that was in his room.

"Geez, you snore loudly. Beanpole tells me I snore loudly too, I hope I'm not as bad as you."

Ted snorted loudly as he was jerked awake by an abrupt voice. He blinked the blurriness out of his sight and looked around the dark room, he noticed something moving on top of his desk but he couldn't make it out.

The figure chuckled, "Can't see me huh? Here, let's try this."

The next thing Ted realized, he felt weight on his back. He sharply looked over his shoulder and saw something short and extremely fuzzy looking down at him with beady little green eyes.

Ted screamed; he lost balance from his unstable position on the bed and fell off the side, dragging half the covers with him. He heard the figure laugh at him as he scrambled across the room, pulling the covers with him while frantically feeling around the wall for the light switch.

His eyes dilated painfully from the sudden bright light but he was more focused on the creature on the bed that had bright orange fur and the biggest yellow mustache Ted has ever seen.

"Ted?!"

Before he could respond, Helen opened the door in a rush; she had a green facial on and at least a dozen curls in her hair. She looked down at Ted, who was pressed against the wall and held his covers up over his chest as if trying to cover something. (She'd rather not ask.)

"Ted? What happened?! Are you all right?"

Ted froze, his eyes darted back and forth between his mother's concerned look and the creature waving at him from his bed with a large smile on his face.

"I….uh….."

"Ted, what's wrong?"

"Uh….n-nothing, just a spider."

Helen sighed irritably, "Oh for heaven's sake Ted!" With that, she closed the door and disappeared back into her room.

Ted turned his attention back to the creature as it laughed, "Oh boy, the look on your face! You're lucky it was just yer mother kid, I sent a whole town on Beanpole back in the day."

"Y…you're the Lorax aren't you?" Now that Ted was fully awake and aware, he finally figured out why the creature seemed so familiar.

The Lorax nodded, "You got it."

Ted slowly got to his feet, "B-but Mr. Once-ler said you were gone…"

"It takes a lot more than chopping down trees to get rid of me kid. Nah, I was needed a lot more elsewhere and there was...nothing left here for me to protect."

Ted still couldn't believe it, he was actually seeing the Lorax with his very own eyes. The Once-ler had told him that humans nowadays are unable to see the guardian of the forest because of their disconnection with nature, though that only made Ted more confused in this situation.

"I...I don't understand, Mr. Once-ler said that no one was able to see you anymore."

The Lorax smiled, "Kid, if anyone has earned the gift of seeing me with their eyes, it's you."

Ted stared, still obviously confused.

"It's easy Beansprout, when nature was at its weakest and danger had set its cold sights on it, you stood up and protected it."

Ted shrugged as he rubbed the back of his head modestly, "Well, Mr. Once-ler was looking after the seed the most, and Audrey helped keep a close eye on it too."

The guardian shook his head, "I wasn't talking about the seed kid."

Ted paused for a moment, trying to figure out what the Lorax meant by that. This time, he was able to piece this riddle together on his own, "Mr. Once-ler…."

The Lorax smiled wide, his mustache smiling with him, "You no doubt saved Beanpole's life kid. Throughout the years I sensed him getting weaker and weaker, I'll admit I was scared that he was going to wither away; that he and the seed would be gone forever."

There was a heavy pause between the two. The Lorax then continued,

"I thought things would have turned around when your grandmother found him." The Lorax frowned, "But after all he's gone through, he was unwilling to trust anybody."

Ted couldn't help but ask, "But….why me then? After all these years and not even trusting Grammy, why would he trust me?"

The Lorax shrugged, "I don't think he did at first. I think that with all the odds stacked against him; with his health and that O'Hare fella hunting him down, he felt cornered and needed to make a decision. Beanpole would put his own life on the line to make sure that seed was safe, so he took a big chance and trusted you." The smile returned to the guardian's face, "I have a good feeling he's glad he made that decision."

Ted smiled.

Then, a sudden thought appeared in his head, "Oh! Does Mr. Once-ler know you're here? We should go see him tomorrow, no doubt he's dying to see you again."

The guardian raised a bushy eyebrow, "Don't you have school tomorrow kid?"

Ted had completely forgotten that it was still the middle of the week and given the amount of days he's missed, he was in no position to take any sick days. He slapped his forehead.

The Lorax laughed, "Don't worry kid, I plan to meet him again soon. I just wanted to come by and give you my thanks," he hopped off the bed, walked up to Ted and gave him a slight bow, "And my respect."

With that, the Lorax began to fade away in a sparkle. Before he completely vanished, Ted could see the Lorax nodding to him, his bossy voice sounded like it was all around him.

"Thanks for saving my friend Beansprout."

Though Ted was aware of the Lorax's new nickname for him, he took the moment to wonder why he would pick that.

"Wait?" Ted said out loud, "Are you saying I'm short?!" he spoke louder, hoping the Lorax was still listening, "I'M NOT SHORT!"

"TED! STOP TALKING TO THE SPIDER AND GO TO SLEEP!"

Ted lowered his head helplessly after his mother shrieked at him from the hallway. Great, now she thinks he's crazy. He's starting to understand why the Once-ler considered a mystical guardian annoying.

It's because he is.

He also realized that he's wide awake at three in the morning; he had a feeling he's going to be nodding off in class tomorrow.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

He couldn't remember the last time he was so happy to wake up in the morning.

He couldn't remember the last time he didn't hear those obnoxious crows waiting for him.

He couldn't remember the last time he was eager to embrace the world outside his Lurkum.

The Once-ler slowly opened the door, the booby trap meant to protect him was uninstalled and forgotten as well as the others; they had no purpose anymore. He tilted his head back and looked up at the sky and was amazed on how quickly it improved; they shut down the factories in Thneedville that contributed to producing pollution and now the only clouds that can be seen in the sky are the white puffy ones that were warm and inviting; nature's clouds.

One cloud shifted and the bright yellow sun peeked through, shining a ray of warm light down onto the earth. The Once-ler cupped a hand over his eyes as he stared straight up at the sun; his eyes filled with tears and his chest swelled with so much emotion that he almost laughed. He turned his attention away from the sun and took the time to look around the valley; though it still looked stiff and decimated he knew it was now on the right path to recovery, it just needed time.

He looked down and noticed a slight hint of green on the ground beside his feet; he knelt down to get a closer look and ran a soft hand over it.

Blades of grass.

He had to be honest, he wasn't expecting grass to grow so soon which only made his smile widen; the valley was so eager to recover and be back to its normal self, and he was going to help it.

He grabbed a watering can from the side of his house and filled it with water. He pulled out his old green working gloves from so long ago, walked off to a clearing and began to break the soil with his hands; had to make sure the soil was nice and loose for the roots to grow easily. Once that was done, he held out his palm and after a moment a soft tiny ball of light formed, quickly replaced by a Truffula seed. After he discovered his gift and how it worked, he was able to get a better grasp on it during his time in Thneedville when he gave just about everyone in the town a seed to plant in their backyard.

With a smile, he gently planted the seed and covered it, sprinkling it with some water afterward. It was well on its way. He got back up to his feet, clapped the dirt off his hands and glanced out at the valley again…..he had a long way to go.

He exhaled upward, blowing a piece of his red hair out of his eyes; it's a good thing Ted and the others offered to help, cause he was sure as heck going to need it.

After planting about a dozen seeds, he found himself in front of the pile of rocks and the hole in the ground, he paused for a moment and gazed down at it; his optimism earlier now gone. The word "Unless" was the final word the Lorax said to him and after all these years he could never figure out what he meant, and yet it took a twelve year boy to figure it out in less than a day.

It made him wonder just how low he had fallen to be so blind to something that should've been simple to understand.

His ears perked at a strange subtle sound from behind; it sounded so familiar. He turned around and shielded his eyes from the sun to get a better look; something was flying down to him but he since it was directly in front of the sun, the Once-ler couldn't get a good look. It wasn't until it was right in front of him was he able to identify it.

A swamee swan.

He felt his chest tighten up with emotion again as the graceful bird swooped down and hovered in front of him with its talons lifted, the Once-ler got the hint and stretched out his arm to act as a perch. When the swan landed on his arm, the two gazed at each other. The Once-ler loosened the glove off his free hand, lifted it and gently caressed its warm orange and yellow feathers.

"Hey there fella," he said softly, "Are you all by yourself?" The swan tilted his head and honked at him in return with a smile formed on its beak.

The Once-ler wondered if maybe this swan was scouting; he knew that birds often hovered over areas to look for food and places to nest. Did the Lorax send this lone swan? He wondered if others tried to scout here for years? With all the thick smog before, he would have never known.

The swan honked at him once more before it began to flap its wings and fly away into the distance. The Once-ler smiled; he couldn't wait to see more of them, he couldn't wait to see all the animals again. He looked forward to watching the humming fish hum in their rivers, the swamee swans sing in the skies and the barbaloots play in the grass.

And this time, he'll help make sure nothing bad happens to them again.

During his train of thought, he had another sense of familiarity from behind him; it wasn't any noise this time, it was…just a magical feeling. He couldn't really explain it, I mean, how does one explain how magic feels?

He turned around and could see a mist of sparkles dance within the ray of sunlight itself. The Once-ler took tentative steps towards it, staring in awe as the figure began to phase into existence from the sunlight; as if it came from the sun itself.

Sure enough, the figure that had formed landed on the ground in front of him; the Lorax.

The Once-ler couldn't keep the tears in his eyes this time; they poured down his cheeks as he ran a fidgeting hand through his red hair, followed by a shuttered laugh. He approached the furry guardian while the Lorax looked up at him with a wide smile on his face, of course you couldn't see his mouth but his mustache was excellent in expressing emotions.

"You've done good Beanpole. You've done good." The Lorax said with a firm nod.

What happened next surprised the Lorax; the taller man collapsed to his knees and wrapped his long arms around him in a hug. After tensing up for a moment, the Lorax quickly relaxed and warmly returned the hug.

Two friends finally reunited.

When the two broke apart, the Once-ler shook his head, "If anyone's done good, it's Ted."

The Lorax raised a brow slightly; even though the Once-ler had restored his faith in other people, he still had a dreaded feeling that the Once-ler's yet to forgive himself still. He prayed that in time, he will.

After the Once-ler got back on his feet, the Lorax walked around him until they were standing side by side and observed the valley.

"I still have a lot of work to do," the Once-ler said with a sigh.

"Remember Beanpole," the Lorax said firmly, "You have friends; a whole town that are willing to help you….let them."

"I know," the Once-ler replied with a smile. It still felt strange for him to rely on others to help him; after all he's been used to being on his own throughout his childhood….

"Well," the Lorax said, clapping imaginary dust off his palms, "Time to get to work."

The Once-ler swelled his chest and replied happily, "You bet!"

…But having those that are willing to help you is something one can definitely get used to.

THE END