The next morning, I woke up early to get ready for work and take Charlie to school. I put on a clean apron dress outfit that I made myself after my mother, Grandma Josephine, and Grandma Georgia taught me how to make one. After that, I put on my winter jacket and I climbed down the ladder. When I got to the bottom, I wrapped my knitted scarf around my neck and I looked up and saw Charlie climbing down the ladder.

When he finally reached the ground, he grabbed his jacket and his scarf and he put them on. "You ready?" I whispered, trying not to wake up mother and our grandparents. Charlie nodded. Then, I opened the door, slowly and quietly, and we both headed out.

As we were walking away from our house, we noticed a crowd of people looking at something on the nearby telephone pole. "What's going on, Em?" Charlie asked. "I don't know, Charlie. Let's go see." I said, as we walked towards the crowd.

After squeezing through people, Charlie and I saw what was on the telephone pole. A poster from the one and only, Willy Wonka. It reads:

"Dear people of the world, I, Willy Wonka, have decided to allow five children to visit my factory this year. In addition, one of these children shall receive a special prize beyond anything you could ever imagine."

I couldn't believe my eyes. Willy Wonka is finally opening his factory. It's unbelievable. Unfortunately, it also read that he's only allowing five children into the factory when the lucky five finds a golden ticket that are hidden underneath Wonka chocolate bars. It's disappointing, but I knew I shouldn't lose hope for both me and Charlie.

After reading the poster, I looked at a nearby street clock and there was only five minutes before my shift started. I walked out of the crowd with Charlie and looked at him. "Charlie, I only have five minutes before my shift starts and I can't be late. Do you think you could-" I started to ask, but Charlie cut me off. "That's fine, Em. I can walk to school." He said. "Are you sure?" I asked, to double check. "Of course, sis. I don't want you to be late for work." Charlie said.

I put my hand on his shoulder and said, while smiling, "Thank you so much, Charlie. I'll walk home with you later." "Okay, Em. Bye." Charlie said, and, then, he walked off to school. "Bye, Charlie." I said, while waving, and, then, I headed to the candy store.

When I got to the candy store, I unlocked the door, since I was in charge of opening the store today while Ron was coming in later, and I walked inside and turned on the lights. I walked behind the cashier counter, hung my jacket and scarf on the coat hanger, and I put on my black waist apron.

After that, I went to the back room and started putting candy on the shelves. Then, after I was done, I stood behind the cashier counter, turned on the radio, and I waited for customers.

Ten minutes went by and not a single customer came in. I was surprised because after people saw the poster on the telephone pole, they should've came into the store already to buy Wonka bars and possibly find a golden ticket inside it. I was bummed, but at the same time, I was glad that there wasn't a crowd of people to deal with so early in the morning. But that'll change later on.

Since I was starting to get a bit bored, I grabbed a newspaper near the entrance and I leaned on the counter as I started reading it. While I was reading, a song that I heard from the radio earlier came to my head. Without thinking, I started singing part of the song, quietly.

Come with me

And you'll be

In a world of pure imagination

Take a look

And you'll see

Into your imagination

"What a voice of an angel." I gasped and jumped a bit when I heard a man's voice out of nowhere. I put my hand on my chest, since my heart was racing a bit, as I sat up, looked up, and saw a man standing in front of the counter, smiling at me.

He was a bit taller than me, but his black top hat didn't count. His hair was brown with a bob haircut that went down to his jawline and his skin was pale like he's never been outside before. He had a black heavy coat on, with dark purple latex gloves covering his hands and funny looking purple sunglasses that were covering his eyes. He was also holding a colorful cane in his right hand.

Not only was I embarrassed because I jumped out of my skin in front of a customer, but it was because I sang in front of someone. I've never sang in front of people other than my family. I'd get stage fright so easily.

"Oh, my gosh. I am so sorry. I didn't even hear you come in." I apologized, as I took a couple of deep breaths and smoothed out my apron. "Oh, there's no need to apologize, my dear. I shouldn't have scared you in the first place. But I couldn't help but listen to the sound of your lovely voice." He said, in a smooth voice.

I blushed at the comment. "Oh. Um, thank you. That's actually the first time someone has commented on my singing voice. In fact, you're the first person other than my family to actually hear me sing." I said, as I put away the newspaper. "Oh, really? That's nice that I'm the first." The man said, a bit cheerfully and he also giggled a bit. I chuckled, nervously.

Then, the man, gently, took my hand into his purple gloved hand and asked, "And what might your name be, my dear?" "It's Emma. Emma Bucket." You answered. "Emma. What a lovely name for a beautiful woman like you." The man said, while smiling, and, then, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand. My heart skipped a beat and I blushed even more. No man has ever treated me like this before. Whoever this man was in front of me was absolutely charming and also handsome as well.

Afterwards, I slightly shook my head and, slowly, released my hand from the man's gloved hand and said, while smiling a bit, "Anyway, what can I help you with today, sir?" "I'll just have one regular chocolate bar, please." The man said. I nodded and said, "Sure thing. That'll be one dollar, please."

Then, the man set a dollar on the counter and he slid it, slowly, towards my direction. I took the dollar and I put it in the cash register as the man grabbed a Wonka bar off the little shelf that was next to the counter.

"Strange that what's-his-name chocolatier is finally opening his chocolate factory?" The man said, as he leaned against the counter and tore the wrapper off the Wonka bar. I looked up at him, oddly. "You mean 'Willy Wonka'." I corrected him. "That's the one. What are your thoughts about the contest?" The man asked, and ate a small piece of the chocolate bar, while looking at me.

I thought about it for a moment until I finally spoke. "It is strange that Willy Wonka is finally opening his chocolate factory. But personally, I think it's wonderful that he's doing it for those five lucky golden ticket winners. Me and my little brother always talk about going there one day, seeing the chocolate factory, and meeting Mr. Wonka. We're happy that it's finally happening. Unfortunately, I know that our chances of finding a single golden ticket are very, very small." I said, while looking down a bit after saying the last sentence.

The man looked at me, curiously. "Why do you say that?" He asked. "Well, my family and I can't afford a lot of things, including Wonka bars, as we're trying to take care of ourselves in our little home. My father and I work. But still, I can't afford to buy a Wonka bar right now since I'm helping my family. It's more important anyway." I explained, while looking down as I leaned against the counter next to the cash register, almost close to the man.

After a short pause for a few seconds, I heard the man break a piece of his Wonka bar. "Here." He said, while smiling. I turned and saw the man holding a piece of chocolate out towards me. "Oh, no, sir. You don't have to do that. I'm fine." I said. "Please, Emma. I insist. It's to keep your strength up and not to lose hope of finding a golden ticket. Do it for you and your little brother, sweetheart." The man said, sweetly. I blushed after he called me 'sweetheart'.

Then, I, slowly, took the piece of chocolate from the man. As I grabbed the piece, my fingertips barely brushed against the purple latex of the man's gloves, making me blush a little more. "Um...thank you. That's very kind of you, sir." I said. That smile never left that man's face as he said back, "You're welcome, Emma."

Moments later, the man stood up straight and smoothed out his coat. "Well, I must go, my dear Emma. It was nice talking with you. I hope we meet again someday, sweetheart." He said, as he tipped his top hat at me and he walked out of the candy store.

I watched the man walk out the door and walked away from the candy store. He was a very strange man. But at the same time, he was very sweet, even when he offered me a piece of his Wonka bar. The one thing that I regretfully forgot to ask him was his name before he left. 'Who was that man?' I thought to myself, while I took tiny bites of the piece of chocolate and stared at the entrance of the door, thinking about him.

"Hey, Emma." I heard Ron call my name from behind me. I turned around and saw him carrying box full of Wonka bars. "Oh, hi, Ron." I said, while covering my mouth with my hand as I was still eating the chocolate.

He noticed me doing that and asked, "You didn't steal a Wonka bar, did you, Emma?" "Oh, no, Ron. I would never do that. A customer came in here earlier and he offered a piece of chocolate to me." I explained. "Huh. Well, that was very generous of him. Anyway, could you help me bring in some more boxes from outside?" Ron asked. "Sure." I said, as I followed Ron to the back of the candy store. "It's gonna be very busy around here for a while with the Wonka contest happening." Ron said. "I'm sure it will be." I said.

***

Ron was right. It was very busy at the candy store earlier. A lot people came into the store, buying a lot of Wonka bars in hopes of finding a golden ticket. It was absolutely crowded, but I didn't complain at all.

I got done with my shift an hour early since it was starting to slow down with customers. As I was walking down the street to meet up with Charlie, I kept thinking about that strange man that came into the store earlier. I kept wondering who he was. I guess I'll never know until I see him again, one day.

As I finally met up with Charlie, we started walking to our house. Once we got there, we told mother and our grandparents about the Wonka contest. But I didn't tell them, not even Charlie, about the man from earlier. They were happy to hear the news. But with Grandpa Joe, he was excited.

"Wouldn't it be something, Emma and Charlie, to open a bar of candy and find a golden ticket inside?" Grandpa Joe asked me and Charlie. "It would be something, Grandpa Joe." I said, while smiling. "It would be something. But I only get one bar a year for my Birthday." Charlie said. "But it's your Birthday next week, Charlie." Mother said, while she was moping the floor.

"You both have as much chance as anyone else." Grandma Josephine said. "Balderdash." Grandpa George spoke. "The kids who are going to find the golden tickets are the ones who can afford to buy candy bars every day. Our Charlie gets one a year. He or Emma don't have a chance." He stated. "Everyone has a chance, Emma and Charlie." Grandma Josephine told me and Charlie, with Grandpa Joe nodding.

"Mark my words. The kid who finds the golden ticket will be fat, fat, fat." Grandpa George predicted.