"Ugh, what the heck did they put down this drain? It's like concrete!" An eleven-year-old Charlotte groaned as she strained and struggled to unclog the kitchen sink.

It was another ordinary morning at the orphanage. The orphans already had breakfast and were outside playing in the snow. Charlotte was the only one stuck inside doing chores, having yet to be fed. She finished sweeping and mopping the floor and making breakfast for everyone else, but now she had to wash the dishes and she could spend the next hour doing whatever she wanted. But she couldn't really do that with a clogged sink that was already overflowing with filthy, sudsy water.

"I could use a little help. But will they offer to help? No, they won't." She muttered, yanking on the plunger as hard as she could.

After another minute of relentless pulling, the clog finally came loose and it sent Charlotte tumbling onto the floor, covering her face in disgusting sink water. Exhausted, she got back onto her feet, wiped her face with a rag, and slumped over the sink for a moment. She heaved a sigh and ran a hand through her hair.

"And what do you think you're doing?" A voice asked.

"Huh? Who, me?" Charlotte said, forcing a fake smile and turning to face the orphanage manager, Ms. Ethel. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, Ms. Ethel. I'm just taking a breather, that's all. I just finished unclogging the sink."

"Good." Ms. Ethel said coldly. "What did they put down there this time, a roller skate?"

"No, just batter. Stephanie and Jessica attempted to bake a cake on their own."

"Oh, that explains it… And you didn't stop them?"

"I tried to, but they yelled at me and bombarded me with measuring spoons and plastic cups and—"

"The tales of your incompetence do not interest me, Charlotte. You know that."

"Sorry, ma'am." Charlotte reached out and grabbed a bright pink envelope and a small black pocketbook from the table while Ms. Ethel wasn't looking; the envelope was addressed to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. "Now I can go out, right?"

"Just for an hour." Ms. Ethel said. "And you already spent about fifteen minutes of that hour trying to unclog that damn sink, so you now have about forty-five minutes. Use those minutes wisely."

"Yes, ma'am. Can I go into town real quick? I've gotta go mail something. I already made all the beds, put away the babies' toys, prepared breakfast, mopped and swept the floors, and washed all the dishes."

"Hmmmmm… Fine, you can go into town. But DON'T dawdle."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be right back, I promise."

Charlotte grabbed her winter jacket, gloves, and scarf from the nearby coat and went out the door. She was spotted by a few kids and just before she could make it past the gate, they stopped her.

"Where are you going, Charlotte? Don't you have more work to do?" A boy named Mark said.

"No, I just finished my morning chores." Charlotte replied. "I need to go into town to mail something. It's really important." Her stomach growled and she blushed. "And I was also thinking of getting a quick breakfast on my way. I only have forty-four minutes, so I need to hurry."

Mark looked back at his two friends and they smiled; they just had a rather wicked idea. Mark turned back to Charlotte.

"You know, you could get to the post office super quick." He said with a smirk.

"I can? How?" Charlotte asked.

The next thing Charlotte knew, she was hopping over rooftops and buildings; she thought this was a horrible idea, but she was in a hurry so she went along with it anyway. The people on the streets below were very confused to see a small girl jumping over their heads and they were worried about her safety, yet they didn't think much of it and they just went about their business as usual. Charlotte attempted to make a bigger jump, only for her letter to be snatched out of her hand by a gust of wind.

"Oh no!" She cried, watching it blow away.

By now, she couldn't turn around to grab it. In fact, she couldn't even stop! Charlotte had missed the ledge and fell through an alleyway. She screamed in terror; she had no idea what to do. Thinking fast, she grabbed a clothes line and slid down it, hoping to catch a glimpse of her envelope. As she slid, she gained more and more speed… only for the clothes line to break halfway through and for her to fall again. Near the post office, a man with a dark overcoat and a top hat crossed the street… and Charlotte realized that she was going to ram right into him.

"Watch out!" She yelled.

The man looked up in alarm to see a young girl in a purple winter coat flying towards him. He screamed as she plummeted out of the sky and crashed right into the man, knocking him face first into a nearby snow bank. Charlotte had rolled a foot or two away from him, but she was alright. The stranger struggled to sit straight until finally, he sat up, spat snow out of his mouth, and shook snow out of his hair. Charlotte started to crawl around on all fours, frantically searching for her missing envelope.

"Oh no! My letter! Where is it?" She cried.

The man slowly got back onto his feet and brushed snow off of his coat before turning around to look at her; he glared at her through his large sunglasses.

"Kid, what is wrong with you?!" He demanded. "Didn't you see me? If you were riding a sled, well I… I'd probably be dead! You're also lucky you didn't break anything, or else you'll have to pay for it."

Charlotte stopped searching and looked up at the stranger who had his gloved hands on his hips and he was giving her a disapproving look. Her eyes widened and she grimaced in fear and embarrassment before she spotted his top hat sitting in the snow. She picked up the hat, stood up, and reluctantly offered it to him.

"I am so sorry, sir. I was going too fast and I couldn't stop, I swear. I'm so very sorry." She said as the man snatched the hat out of her hands and put it back on his head. "Wait, have you seen my letter anywhere?"

The stranger groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "And that right there is the true nature of a spoiled child." He picked up his cane and started to walk away towards the street crossing.

"What? Spoiled?" Charlotte asked in confusion; she turned to face him. "No, sir, you don't understand! This isn't just a letter, this is THE letter. It's really important that I find it."

"Oh really? Is it?" He said sarcastically, looking back to face her. "Let me guess. Small child, mid-February, rapidly searching for a 'really important' lost letter." He stroked his chin and glanced up at the sky, pretending to think. "Might it be a little late to send your list of greedy demands to Santa?"

Charlotte looked at the man, clearly offended. "What? First of all, I'm not small; I'm eleven. Secondly, it's not a letter to Santa Claus; Christmas was two months ago. Thirdly, my letter is not a list of demands." Charlotte retorted. "It's more like a wish. And I'm what I'm wishing for is really, REALLY important. You have to believe me."

"Well, then why send a letter?" The stranger sarcastically asked. "I mean, if what you want is really that important, you should just ask this mysterious wish-granter face to face. Oh wait, that's right. There's no such thing as wishes coming true. My bad. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more imperative things to do."

The man started to walk away until Charlotte stopped him. "You're lost, aren't you?"

He suddenly paused, but didn't look at her. "No I'm not. And even if I was, it's none of your business."

"Are you looking for somebody?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you. I can find him just fine on my own."

"Who?"

"Are you trying to get on my last nerve?"

"Hey, don't blow a gasket, dude. I'm just a kid."

The man paused again and reluctantly turned around to look at Charlotte. "Have you seen a boy around here with fair skin, pale eyes, and brown hair?"

Charlotte huffed and crossed her arms. "Why should I help you? You've been nothing but rude to me this whole time. And I'm just a spoiled child, right?" She smirked.

Sighing in annoyance, the stranger said, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge you, and I'm sure you didn't crash into me on purpose. And yes, I am kind of lost. It's been a while since I've been out and about, okay?"

"You sure about that?"

"Look, I'm desperate here. Can help you find this boy or not?"

Charlotte's expression softened as she looked at the man; he had a nervous look on his face and the tone of his voice sounded like he almost meant that apology. She sighed.

"Okay. I've seen a boy like that somewhere over there. I think he's shining shoes." She said, pointing a finger to a store across the street.

He looked in that very direction and sighed in relief before looking back at Charlotte and vigorously shaking her hand. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how much that information means to me. I'm also very sorry for being so mean to you. I was just frustrated and tired. I hope you understand."

Charlotte almost couldn't tell what he was saying; he was shaking her hand so hard that it almost started to hurt. "Uh, okay, okay, okay. You're forgiven." She pulled her hand out of the stranger's grip before she paused. "What do you want him for anyway? Do you know him?"

"Sort of, but I gotta go. I hope you find your letter soon. Oh, one more thing. Have a candy bar. You look like you need it. Bye." The stranger said before he shoved a big bar of chocolate into Charlotte's hands and crossed the road to the shoe-shining area.

"Uh… bye." Charlotte said.

She stared at the chocolate bar in her hands and saw that it was a Wonka Bar, her favorite candy brand. The letter then floated down out of the sky and landed right at her feet. She sighed in relief and picked before depositing it into the mailbox outside the post office. She checked her wrist watch and gasped, realizing that it was almost eleven; she just used up twenty-three minutes of her free time. Thinking fast, she stuffed her new chocolate bar into her coat, zipped up her coat, and headed back towards the orphanage as fast as she could… unaware of the exchange between Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket that was taking place.