Once and Always

Green Man

A man strolled through the decaying landscape before him.

People knew him as many things—an astute businessman, a visionary—some even saw him as a man with no limits to his desires.

In contrast to the browns and beiges of the land, his green pinstripe tailcoat was remarkably vivid. His sleeves were wrapped in matching green gloves, and a black top hat added another foot to his 6-foot stature. His skin was fair and his hair black, trimmed to a mop style. His tense light blue eyes were concealed by the thick lenses of his blue glitter-framed glasses.

In the distance were dots of red, orange, yellow, and pink. He walked toward a group of people who were surrounding a bunch of towering trees. Their colorful tufts cast shadows over the stripes of grey and white on their trunks. On each person's hand was a sign, which they rhythmically waved while chanting "Save the trees".

The man's steps were powerful against the desecrated ground. A furious glare hid behind his glasses, making his forehead scrunch.

The people's chants grew louder as the man approached them. He felt somewhat uneasy when he saw that there were cameramen close to the protesters. But when he reached them, he stopped and crossed his arms. His stern expression returned.

"What's with all the ruckus?"

A woman walked up to him. Her sign seemed to be the most embellished, being decorated with a bold font and drawings of the same trees they were standing in front of. She had tan skin that seemed to radiate when she stood in front of the sun's rays. Similar to the man, she had deep, straight black hair.

"You know why we're here, Onceler." She said with a sense of defiance.

The light from the sun shone on her eyes, making her irises glisten as she looked up at him. She poked him in the chest fiercely, her dark brown eyes glaring at him with distaste. Sweat dripped from her neck and onto the collar of her red plaid shirt. He assumed that she and the others were standing in the heat all day.

"Why don't you elaborate?" he asked slyly.

The woman huffed, staring at him directly, "You're ruining the environment with your useless thneeds. If you continue producing them, all the animals and truffula trees will die."

Onceler yawned dramatically. "And who're you to tell me what I should do with my billion-dollar corporation, townie? Besides, I know what I'm doing." He smirked at the camera, "Now, y'all should go back home and stay out of my way. Also," he reaches into his coat pocket and takes out a few dollar bills. He placed them into the woman's hand and quipped, "Here's a little something from me. Y'know, to help you pay the bills." And with that he turned on his heel, beginning to walk away.

The woman growled in frustration and threw the stacks of cash on the ground. At this, someone from the group quickly crouched to snatch it. The woman began speed-walking after Onceler and stood in front of the factory door. The cameramen followed suit and filmed as she continued to reprimand him.

"You can't just run from all your problems."

Onceler sighed and put his hands on his hips, "And what may those problems be? I told you what I'm doing is my business and not yours. For your information, I decide what's the most beneficial for Thneed Inc. And I think it's appropriate to continue what I'm currently doing."

The woman didn't move. Instead, she stood, still holding her sign. "What you're doing right now is hurting living, breathing animals. Unless you think of another way to make your thneeds, I'm not leaving. And neither are they," she gestured toward the other protestors who came to stand next to her.