It was a cold, snowy evening, as usual, as I was sitting at the table with Charlie, helping him with some homework from school after I got done with my shift early, while mother was making cabbage soup.

Moments later, father entered the house. "Evening, Buckets." He greeted. "Evening." My grandparents greeted back at him. "Hi, dad." Charlie and I said at the same time, as we both waved at him. Then, he walked over to mother and greeted her with a smile and a kiss. "Soup's almost ready, darling." Mother said. "Don't suppose there's anything extra to put in, love?" She asked. Father shook his head. "Oh, well. Nothing goes better with cabbage than cabbage." Mother said, and, then, she chopped up more cabbage.

Father came over to the table where Charlie and I were sitting, while he was digging through his coat pocket. "Charlie, I found something I think you'll like." He said, as he set a few misshaped toothpaste tube caps that he usually takes from work and gives them to Charlie.

As Charlie was looking through the pile, he found one that he liked. "It's exactly what I need." He said, cheerfully, as he got up and went to go get his model of Wonka's chocolate factory that I helped him built mostly from other toothpaste caps from the closet. "What is it, Charlie?" Grandpa Joe asked.

Charlie got his model and he set it on the table. Then, he placed the cap on the spot where he wanted it to be. "Dad, I found it. Just the piece that I needed." Charlie said. "What piece was it?" Grandpa Joe asked. "A head for Willy Wonka." Charlie answered, while looking at Grandpa Joe. "It's wonderful." Grandma Josephine commented.

"It's quite a likeness." Grandpa Joe said. "You really think so?" Charlie asked. Grandpa Joe nodded and said, "Think so? I know so. I saw Willy Wonka with my own two eyes. I used to work for him, you know."

Charlie looked surprised. "You did?" He said. I smiled and looked up at Charlie. "He did, Charlie. Grandpa Joe has told me a lot of stories about Willy Wonka when I was about your age." I said. "He did." Grandma Josephine said. "He did." Grandpa George said as well. "I love grapes." Grandma Georgina said, happily. I chuckled a bit after Grandma Georgina said that.

"Of course, I was a much younger man in those days." Grandpa George began to tell his story. Charlie grabbed a chair and sat next to Grandpa Joe as he seemed intrigued to hear the story. I smiled at his excitement.

"Willy Wonka began with a single store on Cherry Street. But the whole world wanted his candy. The man was a genius. Did you know, he invented a new way of making chocolate ice cream, so that it stays cool for hours without a freezer? You can even leave it lying in the sun on a hot day and it won't go runny." Grandpa Joe explained. "But that's impossible." Charlie said.

"But Willy Wonka did it." Grandpa Joe said, while smiling. "Before long, he decided to build a proper chocolate factory. The largest chocolate factory in history. Fifty times as big as any other." He explained.

"Grandpa, don't make it gross." Charlie said, smiling. I giggled at his comment after Grandpa Joe added that he and Grandma Josephine shared a kiss together at the historical event. Trust me, I said the same thing too when Grandpa Joe shared his story to me when I was younger.

Afterwards, Grandma Josephine said, "Tell him about the Indian Prince. He'd like to hear about that." "You mean Prince Pondicherry?" Grandpa Joe corrected. At the same time, mother placed a tray that had four bowls of cabbage soup on it on the bed for the grandparents.

Then, Grandpa Joe continued, "Well, Prince Pondicherry wrote a letter to Mr. Wonka and asked him to come all the way out to India and build him a colossal palace entirely out of chocolate." "It's really unbelievable how they were able to build that. But it's still amazing." I said. "Indeed, it was, Emma." Grandpa Joe winked at me. Then, mother handed me and Charlie bowls of cabbage soup.

"True to his word. The bricks were chocolate and the cement holding them together was chocolate. All the walls and ceilings were made of chocolate as well. So were the carpets and the pictures and the furniture. But once the palace was completed, Mr. Wonka warned the prince that the palace won't last long and he should start eating right away, but the prince refused." Grandpa Joe explained. 'I can't imagine why.' I thought to myself.

"But Mr. Wonka was right, of course. Soon after this, there came a very hot day with a boiling sun. Within minutes, the whole palace was nothing but melted chocolate and it all collapsed to the ground." He said. 'Gosh, what a waste of chocolate.' I thought to myself, once again.

"The prince sent an urgent telegram requesting a new palace, but Willy Wonka was facing problems of his own. All the other chocolate makers, you see, had grown jealous of Mr. Wonka, they began sending in spies to steal his secret recipes. Ficklegruber started making an ice cream that would never melt. Prodnose came out with a chewing gum that never lost its flavor. Then, Slugworth began making candy balloons that you could blow up to incredible sizes. But the thievery got so bad that one day, without a warning, Mr. Wonka told every single one of his workers to go home. He announced that he was closing his chocolate factory forever." Grandpa said, sadly.

I shook my head, thinking about it. I felt sorry for Willy Wonka. All that hard work and this was the thanks that some of the people gave him? Stealing his life's work recipes? That was definitely uncalled for.

We all sat around the room, in silence, eating our cabbage soup, until Charlie finally spoke. "But it didn't close forever. It's open right now." He said. I put my hand on his shoulder and explained, "Well, sometimes, Charlie, when grown-ups say 'forever', they mean 'a very long time'."

"Such as, 'I feel like I've eaten nothing but cabbage soup forever.'" Grandpa George complained. "Now, pops." Father said, while looking at him.

Grandma Josephine spoke to continue the story. "The factory did close, Charlie." She said. Then, Grandpa Joe stepped in and said, "And it seemed like it was going to be closed forever. Then, one day, we saw smoke rising from the chimneys. The factory was back in business."

"Did you get your job back?" Charlie asked. "No. No one did." Grandpa Joe said, disappointedly. "But there must be people working there." He said. "Think about it, Charlie. Have you ever seen a single person going into that factory or coming out of it?" Grandma Josephine asked. Charlie thought about it for a moment and, then, said, "No. The gates are always closed." "Exactly." Grandpa Joe said.

"But, then, who's running the machines?" Charlie asked, curiously. "No one knows, Charlie." Mother said. "It certainly is a mystery." Father added.

"Hasn't anyone asked Mr. Wonka?" Charlie continued to asked questions. "Nobody sees him anymore, Charlie. As Grandpa Joe has always told me, he never comes out. The only thing that comes out of that place is the candy. Already packed and addressed." I explained to him, while smiling.

But, then, Grandpa Joe smiled again and said, "I'd give anything to see that factory one more time and see what became of it." I smiled at the thought of that. "I wish to see the factory too, Grandpa Joe. I'd give anything to make me and Charlie's dream come true. To see inside the chocolate factory and even meet Mr. Willy Wonka himself." I said, while I gave Charlie a side hug.

"Well, you won't, because you can't. No one can. It's a mystery and it will always be a mystery. That little factory of yours, Charlie, is as close as any of us is ever going to get." Grandpa George spoke, ruining the moment.

Moments later, mother spoke. "Come on, Emma and Charlie. I think it's time we let your grandparents get some sleep." I nodded in response as I ate my last drop of cabbage soup and got up from my chair and started helping mother with the dishes. As I was doing that, Charlie was saying goodnight to our grandparents. "Nothing's impossible, Charlie." I heard Grandma Georgina speak to Charlie.

After I helped mother with the dishes, I said 'goodnight' to mother and father and they gave me kisses. I walked over and said 'goodnight' to my grandparents and they said 'goodnight' to me back, with hugs and kisses.

Then, I followed Charlie up the ladder that leads to our bedroom. My bed was next to the hole on the roof and Charlie's bed was on the other side without a hole in the roof. I chose that side any way, so Charlie didn't have to sleep near the cold.

As I sat on my bed, I heard Charlie speak to me. "Emmy?" I looked up at him and answered, "Yes, Charlie?" "Do you really think there is a chance that we'll make it to the chocolate factory someday?" He asked, while he laid down and pulled the blanket over him. I didn't want to want to get his hopes up, but I told him, as I got up and tucked him in bed, "I'm sure we have a chance, Charlie. As Grandma Georgina said, 'Nothing's impossible'. Don't lose hope. We'll get there someday."

Charlie smiled at me and said, "Okay. Goodnight, Em." Then, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. I smiled back at him and gave him a goodnight kiss on his head. "Goodnight, Charlie." I whispered, as I turned off the lamp on my nightstand. Then, I laid down on my bed and turned to the hole of the roof, while pulling the blanket over me. All I did was stare at that chocolate factory until I drifted off into sleep.