Lorax - Once-ler x Aurora - Breathless -Chapter 17

Back in the Truffula forest, Isabella rummaged through her son’s room, tearing it apart looking for her beloved fox scarf that Lorax had hidden during the night. As she searched, the thought of retrieving her fox was more important than the fact Once-ler wasn’t anywhere to be found and in the back of her mind was preparing a speech for when he did get back. “Oooh… That’s the second time this week! If Oncie wasn’t making so much money out here, I would leave this dump with all these nasty bears, fish, and whatever that furry orange thing is…” Isabella grumbled as she rummaged through Once-ler nightstand and paused when her hand touched a photo she thought she’d misplaced years ago. She picked up the old photo and felt her blood run cold. As her eyes scanned the picture, she noticed it was a moment in time she swore she forgot. A man she wished she never had to remember – but yet was never far from her mind. She sat down on Once-ler’s bed as her eyes grazed the picture of her and Once-ler’s father. She let out a huff and a smirk when she realized just how much her late husband and Oncie looked alike.

Isabella remembered the day she met him like it was yesterday. Up north, he worked for his lumberjack father and she just happened to be an ungrateful teenager stuck camping with her family for a week. Among the bugs, rain, cold, bears, dirt, and mosquitoes, this day of the trip was perhaps in the top ten worst and best days of her life. She wandered a trail alone when her eyes fell on him. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand, grazing his charcoal black hair from his gorgeous face and out from his crystalline blue eyes. With his dark denim jeans hugging those long legs and no shirt to be seen, he was a magnificent sight for any 17 year old teenage girl. When he turned to look at her – she was a mess. Her blonde hair ratted from the static of the tent, her acne worsened with the lack of a decent place to wash her face; she was covered head to toe in mosquito bites, and her blue overalls covered in mud from where her sister had pushed her into it earlier that day. It was a pitiful sight, but an amazing thing happened – he smiled at her.

Isabella felt an actual smile tug at her lips when she remembered that first smile he gave her. She had been so insecure her whole life and usually hid it behind her bad attitude and manipulative personality, but with him – it was different. He freed up something in her she never knew existed. She suddenly recalled him saying “Hello.” And the rest was history. She never really believed in all that crap about happily ever after, love at first sight, and soul mate junk all those fairytales that her mother used to read her as a child spoke about. She was too smart for that – it didn’t exist, but even she admitted she could be proved wrong, and boy, did he.

It was a whirlwind romance, she instantly fell for his smile and charisma and there was a gentleness he felt in her, yet could be as stubborn as a mule – and he loved that about her. Isabella had found someone who loved her – for her, and it was the happiest times in her life. Her parents weren’t too thrilled that instead of going to her graduation for her 18th birthday – they went to her wedding. But she knew this was what she wanted and he promised to give her everything she’d ever need and want. And she believed him. Being a young couple, he had to move to keep a job and she struggled to keep a job considering how much they had to move. He just worked as a lumberjack, his passion was business. He had the right personality for it too. He wanted to make a name for himself and wanted to make a good life for them. As soon as an opportunity came up and he believed his big break was coming – she found out she was pregnant.

“Once-ler.” He said smiling, holding his brand new baby close to him in the hospital.

“What kind of a name is that?” Isabella protested.

“I don’t know, but it fits him, doesn’t it?” he asked.

Isabella wanted a more traditional name for her child, but after she seen the smile on her husband’s face and back down at her blue eyed baby – yeah – it did fit.

“Hi… My Oncie.” Isabella said, reaching up and ticking his belly and the baby smiled for the first time. His little gums being displayed proudly as he smiled at his parents.

Isabella’s smile widened when she recalled the first years of her son’s life. More joy than she would ever experience again. She felt as if she had it all. A loving husband, a beautiful little boy – but there was always a problem. Their financial status was low. They were relying on their parents to help them pay their rent and to buy clothes for Once-ler, who continued to grow like a weed. Her husband smiled, coming home from a long day of work.

“Guess whaaaat?” he asked walking over to Isabella who was preparing dinner in their cramped kitchen as Once-ler played on the floor hitting their plastic Tupperware with wooden spoons and singing a song in gibberish with his melody.

“I got the job.” He said, his eyes sparkling.

“Are you serious?” Isabella asked, nearly dropping the tomato sauce covered spoon on the floor.

“Yes!” he said, scooping her up and spinning her around and placing her back on the ground. Once-ler smiled up at his daddy and crawled over to him and holding on to his pant leg.

“Dada.” Once-ler, now barely two, cooed.

“That’s right, Oncie! Daddy’s gonna get us out of this cramped apartment and you’re finally gonna get your own room!” his father said joyously, picking up his bouncing baby boy and kissing his cheek.

Once-ler just shrieked happily and Isabella laughed. “Oh, I’m so happy, honey! Where’s this new job gonna be?”
With those words, her husband’s face fell slightly. Once-ler just played with his father’s tie as his mother’s face filled with horror. Without even answering the question, she knew they were set to make a farther more than ever before.

“Are you kidding me? We have to move again?! How far this time?!” she continued, her hand running through her blonde hair.

“Only about 7 hours up north.” He answered quickly hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Isabella didn’t answer, she just realized all their lives were going to drastically change.

It was a few years of going back and forth between apartments in the tiny town they moved to before they were finally able to purchase a house. It wasn’t the mansion he promised, but it was a lot better than their cramped apartments. They had to move. The first time Isabella seen their new house, there was a hominess about it. While it was two stories, it was still far from where she eventually wanted to be but was hopeful with every step up in the world and she knew it wouldn’t be long until her husband would be making more money than she would know what to do with.

More years passed. Once-ler was now nine years old and getting close to reaching his mother’s height. After a few years in the house, her husband continually worked tirelessly at his new job and still found time at the end of every day to work on blueprints in his new invention. He wanted to improve motor vehicles and make them safer. His job payed the bills, but the job wasn’t his real dream. It was just a stepping stone he hoped he’d be able to clear soon. As he looked at the blueprints, his eyes fell to his wife who stood in the doorway. She walked in moments later and walked over behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her head resting on his shoulder as she looked over it to see what he was working on.

“Looks great, hon.” She sighed.

“Thanks. Still a few bugs to work out, but it’s almost there.” After a few moments of quiet, her husband looked at her and leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips. She closed her eyes and leaned in and kissed him again after he pulled away.

Her husband smile slightly fell when he asked out of nowhere, “You’re happy, aren’t you?”

“Of course…” she answered, her brows furrowing wondering what on earth he meant by that.

“I mean, if nothing changes – if this is all there is – would you still be?” he clarified.

Isabella searched her husband’s eyes for some type of explanation to his question, but found none. She thought about his question. She thought about her life now versus the life he promised so many times when they were first married. All the dreams he had still unfulfilled. She never considered this being it. She was always looking to the future but now here she was questioned about her happiness if this happened to be all there was to their life together. She looked deeply into her husband’s crystalline eyes and reached up to touch his face. She closed her eyes and leaned in and kissed him passionately on the lips before pulling away and whispering, “Yes. I wou -- …”

“What are you doing?” Once-ler asked as he walked into the room, his guitar hanging loosely from the strap on his shoulder. Isabella quickly pulled away from her husband and looked in shock at her son standing at the door wondering just how long he’d been standing there.

“Working on my new invention! Come look, Once-ler!” his father said, beckoning the boy to join him. Once-ler gladly accepted, placing his guitar near the door before running past his mother and into his father’s lap. Isabella watched the two for a moment before she turned to leave. She felt her husband’s hand grasping hers. She turned to look at him and he gave her that smile she adored. “I love you.” He mouthed.

“Love you too.” She mouthed back before ruffling her son’s hair and heading down the stairs to make dinner.
The next day began like any other. The one thing that stood out at first was this was the day her husband was going to give his boss the blueprints for his new invention. If this turned out successful, they were both looking at a brighter future for their family. As Isabella finished chores, she was preparing dinner, Once-ler played outside after school, and all was well. As the sun fell, Isabella waited up for her husband. Once-ler sat at the table, eagerly looking at the food his mother denied him eating until his father got home from work. Dinner went cold, the hours passed as they both waited for him to return from work…

…But he never did.

Isabella remembered pacing the floor. Her heart was pounding as her own nervousness built up in her throat and she couldn’t shake the terrible feeling that had arose in her chest. Her breath was shallow as she kept looking out the window and waited for her husband’s headlights. Once-ler was sitting on the couch, swinging his feet wondering what possibly could be keeping his father. Once-ler’s fingers grazed the guitar’s strings and were practicing his song he was planning to play and a song to sing for the school talent show. And he wanted his dad to be the first to hear it. Once-ler’s thoughts were broken when he heard a knock at the door.

Isabella swear she felt her heart stop when she opened the door and seen the two police officer’s standing there. She felt tears burning her eyes and blurring her vision. “No…” she whispered, knowing the only reason police officers would be at your house – it couldn’t be anything good.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but there’s been an accident…” was all the officer had to say before Isabella fell to her knees and let out a scream as her face fell in her hands. The female police officer walked over to Once-ler who sat stone like on the couch not believing the scene that was unfolding in front of his eyes. He immediately tossed his guitar to the side and ran toward his mother who continued to wail.

Once-ler laid his hands on his mother’s back before looking up to the male officer. He swallowed a lump in his throat before kneeling next to the boy and his mother, “I’m sorry, but he didn’t make it…” was all the officer had to say when Once-ler felt tears spilling from his eyes when the reality of the situation fell on his small shoulders.

The funeral was a week later. Isabella sat in the front row at the outdoor ceremony in the cemetery. No tears, no expression, she had gone numb – a defense mechanism to keep the intolerable pain at bay. In just seconds a week ago, her whole life was turned upside down. The accident site was easy for the officers to understand. Her husband had been testing the new part he’d invented without her knowledge – and it was a malfunction that made the car lose control and ultimately take his life. Never did she think anything such as this could happen to the man who made her life worthwhile. As she looked down at her folded hands, the only emotion she was feeling was intense anger – anger at the husband who left her broke, now a single mother, and without any way to support herself. She looked at the ring he’d given her all those years ago… All the unfulfilled dreams that were never realized – and now would never be… The betrayal she felt and anguish were all too much to handle – that’s when she felt the walls around her heart go up.

As Isabella looked at the picture in her hands, she watched as a teardrop from her eye fall on the glass covering the photo. She thought about the years lost with him. The life she missed. The man who broke through that icy exterior and warmed her heart. She felt her arms shaking slightly as she hugged the picture to her chest and for the first time since the night he died, she felt herself let out all the grief she held in for far too long. As the warm tears dripped from her face as she held her late husband’s picture to her chest, she thought about their son. Even with her husband’s unfulfilled dreams, the son they had fulfilled all the aspirations she’d hoped for. A smile came to her face as she looked at the picture and touched his face.

Isabella’s smile fell when she remembered the question he asked her the night before he died.

“Are you happy? Even if nothing ever changes?”

Once-ler interrupted her. While she said “Yes”, there was a catch. “as long as you’re with me…” she wanted to finish that night.

She felt abandoned. Betrayed. She felt as if he left her on purpose. He knew his invention still had glitches, but decided to recklessly try it anyway. Her main motivation for living had died and left her a single mother in a home with no source of income. The day he passed away was the day she knew she would never allow anyone to get that close to her again. She never wanted to feel that deep searing pain ever again – and she admitted that was why she pushed her son away and the insults and ridiculously high expectations of him was to make her feel better about herself. She wasn’t sorry. She felt as if she deserved what she’d been promised by her late husband and if it was fulfilled by Oncie – so be it.

With that thought, she placed down the picture back on Once-ler’s bed and looked at her late husband’s picture. For a moment she wondered what would have been if he never left. What her life might have been like had she not lost the one person who made her feel alive. As much as her anger raged at his death – the love she still had for him was still buried beneath the surface of her cold heart. She knew she could never love again though. The fear of getting hurt again was too great – that’s when she heard her son’s voice outside the door, she stood to her feet and went to confront him.

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