paradisa | Thirty One Truffula Trees

[The Once-ler hasn't heard from his mother in a while. This is nothing new, really. She only ever comes to him if she wanted something, it's always been that way, and he doubts she'd ever change, magical castle notwithstanding. But he hasn't heard from her since that dinosaur mess, and eventually, his love for her overwhelms his common sense and desire not to get his heart kicked in, as it always inevitably does. He heads off to her room, finding the nameplate gone.

Well. That was that. She'd left him. Again. Quietly this time, with no harsh words to bite into his memory as she drives away into the smog. Just a door without a name on it. He doubts he'll ever see her again, and he feels guilty for finding some relief in that thought. He exhales, opening his journal. He doesn't even know what to say at first, he doesn't even know if she even HAD any friends here]

For anyone who cares, my mom. [Pause] Flora her name's Flora. Look, I don't know if anyone knew her or not- but she's gone. Back home. So there you go.

[He'll just go try to find somewhere to brood where his friends won't find him now]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...

How rich are you exactly?

Mm, pretty rich. My family owns a major hotel chain where I'm from.

It's not a very big castle, but it is bigger than my mansion in LA.

[God, he remembers being wealthy, he revelled in it. Now, even hearing it makes him sick to his stomach]

You ever prepare for what might happen if all that money was gone?

Gone?

[What? Pfff! That can't happen!]

Yeah, gone. There one day, the next? Poof.

Gone.

How could someone prepare for that?

Make sure you have friends who like you for who you are. Maybe put some away as a nest egg, just in case. Heck, I don't know, all I do know is having it vanish quickly is hard to deal with.

That does sound like it'd be pretty bad.
How do you know all this?

Because I lost all of my money. Trust me, I speak from experience here.

How?

I made it all about the money instead of thinking about the people around me.

[London gives a haughty chuckle.]

You can't just think about money! You have to think about both! Get the people to give you money! Duh!

[Having been raised in hospitality, she at least knows a little about customer service.]

Thaaaaat's not exactly what I meant.

It's not?

Edited 2013-08-01 20:00 (UTC)

No. I stepped on a lot of people to get where I was. I made the people giving me money my best friends...but I hurt the people who needed me the most. The people who'd actually be around for me if I hadn't done what I did.