Our Promise - A Once-ler X OC fanfiction

Chapter III - Déjà-Vu

"I'm here! "


Maya announced herself as soon as she entered her store, where her colleague Flora was waiting for her behind the counter. The store was not very big, but it was very warm and a victim of its own success. For three years, customers had been coming and going to buy flowers, ready to pay for them.


"There are two night-blooming Cereus left in LakeVille, Flora announced with a broad smile. We'll get them tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., and they're also offering us enough to plant a dozen in our greenhouse.


- Great! I'll get them. How did the day go? "


As Flora recounted the successful day, Maya glanced at the corkboard with new order forms for bouquets pinned to it. Many of these orders were for an event scheduled for twenty days later.


"By the way, added her colleague, why did you look so cloudy earlier?


- I don't know what you're talking about, Maya lied.


- It must have been something important! I know you well enough: something caught your attention."


Maya smiled. The two young women had known each other for several years, and they knew almost everything about each other. They were two opposites, both mentally and physically. Maya was a brunette with blue eyes, and Flora was a blonde with brown eyes. 

Flora let out a small cry of surprise.

"You met someone! she dared to guess.

- Wha- No! the brunette defended herself. 

- I want to know EVERYTHING! His sex, his age, his name, his looks, EVERYTHING!"

The botanist ran a hand over her face. She couldn't hide anything from her perceptive friend. And come to think of it, she didn't even know what this traveler's name was, or his age.  

"It's useless, she said, you know very well that I'm not very good at descriptions...

- Is he so attractive that you doubt yourself?"

The young woman felt her cheeks redden and let out a short sigh. She thought this question was ridiculous. She did not doubt, she knew she was not good at descriptions. She opened her mouth to retort, but Flora was quicker:

"THAT MUCH?!

- Just shut up! said Maya. If you want to know everything, it's a beanpole that makes feminine screams and that doesn't fit my criteria, am I clear enough?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. She was amused and intrigued by this short description. She guessed at once that it was not someone from GreenVille, because everyone knew everyone, and she did not know any "beanpole". Smiling, she decided to tease her colleague some more.

"You're a botanist, anything about nature should appeal to you... including beanpoles, in every sense of the word!

- Flora! exclaimed Maya.

- I'm teasing you! laughed the young woman. But I'm going to keep doing it if you don't satisfy my thirst for an amazing story."

The brunette sighed and lowered her head. She sat down on the stool at the counter and began to recount her encounter with the Once-ler, in great detail. The chopped down Truffula tree, the stormy encounter, the arrival of the Lorax... The only information she didn't have was his name and his age. She added that from what she heard, he sounded like he had a southern accent. And physically, it was hard for Maya to describe him accurately, describing him as a tall young man with dark hair and light eyes. 

"Dark hair and light eyes and that doesn't fit your criteria? Flora was surprised.

- I'm not sure if he has light eyes, it could be totally the opposite because of the sunlight... she corrected. But it does not matter, I want to finish this discussion for today, the day was long... "

Understanding, Flora decided to give in to Maya's request and both of them started to count the cash register, put away the unsold flowers in the back store and finally go home each.

They didn't live very far from each other. Only a few blocks away. GreenVille is a small town in the middle of a huge valley. Flora lived with her family in a small modest house. As for Maya, she lived alone, in a half-timbered house on the outskirts.

The brunette returned home. She ate dinner with the leftovers from the night before, and began to think about her day. In loop, she replayed her meeting with this traveler. She regretted not knowing his name, but she swore to have already seen him somewhere... She searched in her memory, lacking her for some time.

And she stopped moving, widening her eyes, realizing where she had seen the Once-ler before. Maya didn't finish her meal and rushed upstairs, entering one of the two bedrooms in the house. She searched the drawers of the desk next to the bed, which was impeccably made. In these drawers were letters that served as a diary. The last one was from two months ago, and she began to read it diagonally. What she was looking for was a description that could be close to this individual. 

And her blue eyes landed on a name: "Once-ler." She repeated it once, then a second time, not even sure it was a name. The letter did not praise him, was it the same person?


With tears in her eyes and the letter still in her hand, she went to the next room, her own. Her room was very plain, and very orderly. In her bookcase, making a good part of one of the walls, she looked for a particular book. She touched them all, looking for a certain texture that was special, and finally she found it. There was a paper between the pages, and she grabbed it.
On this sheet, there was no doubt, the portrait of the traveler she had met. A portrait she had made six months before. At the bottom of the work, her signature but also the inscription: "Once-ler".

At that moment, she knew the night will be very long.

"Alya... she murmured. Please, tell me it was a joke..." 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note

This chapter is shorter, I know... feel free to correct me if there's any English mistakes, as always :)

So, it's the first time we heard about Alya. For those who are following me on Instagram, you know who she is for Maya. For the others, well, it's not very a secret: she's her sister. Her twin sister. Why is she connected to the Once-ler, by the portrait? Did she met him before? 

The "Chapter IV - The Florist of GreenVille." is coming soon...