Sweet Endings (Willy Wonka | Johnny Depp)

Chapter 1 - The Bucket Family

It was a day like any other. Working in the nearest candy store from my house. It was unmistakable. It was literally a leaning house. Kids were coming in and buying Wonka bars. I looked at the clock on the wall. Quiting time. My little brother, Charlie, ran into the store, "Hi Alex!"

I smiled at him, "Hi Charlie! Give me a sec and we can go, kay?" He nodded and I made sure everything was organized. "Alright let's go. Bye Sam!" I yelled to my boss. He popped his head from around the corner and waved to Charlie and I. "So how was your day bud?" I placed an arm around his shoulders.

"It was good." He smiled at me. I smiled back and we continued to walk to our little home. And I mean little. It was really cramped there, but it was better than nothing. I see people and how they're so ungrateful for what they have. Our house was barely standing and I'm grateful there's a bed for me to sleep in, a roof over my head and I can eat everyday.

Charlie and I walked through the gate of our yard and he ran through the door. I walked in seconds after him, and Mom was cooking cabbage soup again. Grandpa Joe, Grandma Josephine, Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina were all lying in the one bed in the middle of the floor. Charlie started working on his homework while I helped Mom with the dinner. Seconds later, Dad walked in the door. "Evening Buckets!" He said, shutting the door.

Everyone waved or said "Evening" while Charlie and I said "Hi dad!" Dad walked over to Mom and they hugged. "Soup's almost ready darling." Mom smiled at him. "Uh, don't suppose there's anything extra to put in..." Dad frowned and looked down. "Oh well, nothing goes better with cabbage then cabbage." Mom started chopping the cabbage again. I sighed and helped her.

Dad walked over to Charlie and sat next to him, "Charlie, I found something I think you'll like." He pulled out a bunch of toothpicks out of his pocket. Charlie picked one out the pile and he smiled at Dad, "It's just what I need!" I raised an eyebrow as he pulled out a model of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. I smiled sadly at him. Charlie always wanted to meet Willy Wonka.

"What is it Charlie?" Grandpa Joe asked. Charlie placed the piece on top of a headless Willy Wonka. "Dad found it, just the piece I needed." He took a step. "What piece was it?" I asked, already knowing. Charlie smiled me and took a step back so we could see, "A head for Willy Wonka." Grandma Josephine smiled, "How wonderful."

"It's quite a likeness." Grandpa Joe added. Charlie looked at him, "You think so?" "Think so? I know so! I saw Willy Wonka with my own two eyes. I used to work for him." Grandpa Joe said. I smiled as I listen to the story while putting chopped up cabbage into the soup. "You did?" Charlie asked in amazement. "I did." Grandpa Joe added. "He did." Grandma Josephine added. "He did." Grandpa George added.

"He did." I nodded to Charlie. "I love grapes." Grandma Georgina randomly said. I smiled sadly to myself. Grandma Georgina had no clue what we're talking about. She was so clueless. It's quite sad at times. "Of course, I was a much younger man in those days. How old were you again, Alex?" I thought for a minute, "I think I was 14?" Grandpa Joe nodded and started telling his story. "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 made a new way of making chocolate ice cream so it stays cold for hours without a freezer? You can even leave it lying in the sun on a hot day and it won't go runny."

"But that's impossible." Charlie said. I smiled at him. "But Willy Wonka did it." I told my little brother. Grandpa Joe continued his story, "Before long, he decided to build a proper chocolate factory. The largest factory in history. Fifty times bigger than any other." After he said that, he got to the part of him and Grandma Josephine kissing. "Grandpa, don't make it gross." Charlie said. I laughed at his reaction.

"Tell him about the Indian prince. He'd like to hear about that." Grandma Josephine said. This one is my favorite. It's so ironic. "You mean Prince Pondicherry. Well, Prince Pondicherry wrote a letter to Mr. Wonka, asking him to come all the way to India and build him a colossal palace entirely out of chocolate. Mr. Wonka said 'It will have one hundred rooms and everything will be made out of either light or dark chocolate.' True to his word, the bricks were chocolate and the cement holding them together was chocolate. All the walls and ceilings were made out of chocolate as well. So were the carpets and the pictures and the furniture."

Mom and I started handing out dinner to everyone as Grandpa Joe continues, "Willy Wonka told him that the palace wouldn't last long, and he would have to start eating straight away, but the prince ignored him and stated the he was going to live in it. Mr. Wonka was right, of course. Soon after this, came a very hot day with a boiling sun. As you can probably imagine, the palace melted."

Bam. The irony. "The prince sent an urgent telegram requesting a new palace, but Willy Wonka was facing a problem of his own." Charlie raised an eyebrow at Grandpa Joe's statement. I sat down next to him, "All the other candy makers were jealous of Mr. Wonka and sent in spies to steal his secret recipes."

Grandpa Joe nodded, "Fickelgruber started making 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. The thievery got so bad that one day, without a warning, Mr. Wonka said to every single one of his workers to go home. He announced that he was closing his chocolate factory forever."

Charlie frowned, "But it didn't close forever. It's open right now." I placed my bowl down and wrapped an arm around him. "Yes, well, sometimes when adults say forever, they just mean for a really long time." I told him. "Such as 'I feel like I've eaten cabbage soup forever'." Grandpa George frowned as he looks at his bowl. "Now pops." Dad looked at him.

"The factory did close Charlie." Grandma Josephine looked at him. Grandpa Joe added, "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." Charlie looked at Grandpa Joe, "Did you get your job back?"

Grandpa Joe frowned and looked at his bowl, "No. No one did." We were silent for awhile until Charlie spoke up, "But there must be people working there." Grandma Josephine looked at him, "Think about it Charlie. Have you ever seen a single person going into the factory or coming out of it?"

"No, the gates are always closed." Charlie replied. "Exactly." I sighed. "But then who's running the machines?" Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Nobody knows Charlie." Mom said. "Hasn't someone asked Mr. Wonka?" Charlie looked around the group. "Nobody sees him anymore." Grandpa Joe shrugged. "He never comes out. The only thing that comes out of the factory is the candy. Already packed and addressed." I looked at Charlie.

"I would give anything in the world just to go in one more time and see what's become of that amazing factory." Grandpa Joe said. "Well you won't, because you can't. No one can. It's a mystery and it will always be a mystery." Grandpa George said, bursting Grandpa Joe's bubble. "That factory of yours, Charlie, is as close as any of us is going to get."

Mom spoke up, "Come on Charlie. I think it's time we let your grandparents get some sleep." Dad helped clean up the bowls as Charlie and I said good night and headed up stairs. "Alex?" I heard Charlie as I laid in my bed. I turned over and looked at him, "Yeah bud?" He looked at me, "Do you think Mr. Wonka will ever let anyone in the factory?"

I sighed and shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe one day." He nodded and rolled over. I looked outside the hole just above his bed, looking at the factory. Man I hope he does. I really wonder who's working inside the factory and what's inside.