Charlie found him sitting on the bridge that hung over the chocolate river. He was muttering to himself while staring into the dark flowing depths, the rest of his face covered by his top hat. Charlie approached him cautiously.

"Mr. Wonka?" he asked, when he was behind him. His mentor slightly shifted his position on the bridge, but otherwise didn't make any form of response. Useless. Charlie tapped on his shoulder.

"I was thinking of roses." He responded. Charlie looked at the man with curiosity as he sat down beside him.

"They lure you in with their soft petals and their pretty colours, but touch them the wrong way and they harm you with those sharp needles."

"Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked, wondering if his mentor was in fact saying this to him and not, as he had done numerous times before, talking to himself.

"I'm telling you Charlie, those pretty flowers have an independent woman's spirit about them."

Charlie nodded in agreement. Was he really talking about women? Either it was going to be a very special day in the chocolate factory or his mentor had changed drastically, personality wise, in the last 24 hours.

"Have you ever been in love?" Charlie asked. He had expected the response to be one of disgust but no such thing happened. In fact, the candy maker actually smiled.

"Once. She didn't love me back. At least not in the way I hoped for…"

"Did she love you in the family type of way."

"Yes. The F…Family way."

Charlie nodded and after that they stared in silence at the fast moving chocolate water.

"So why did you really come here for?" he asked, not even looking at his heir, but instead becoming quite preoccupied by the silver W shaped pendant that was pinned to his right sleeve.

"Mr. Wonka…." He took a breath.

"I have been here for three weeks now and I've been thinking-"

"I like that." The candy maker interrupted.

"What?"

"I like that you have been thinking. Ideas come from thinking"

Charlie paused.

"Well I have been thinking…this being a chocolate maker. It's not…What I mean to say is…"

Willy was staring at him intently with his deep violet eyes. Charlie sighed heavily.

"Do you really think I could be like you? Be all…fantastic?"

"Of course. That's why you won."

"But that was a default win!" Charlie cried out, now standing up.

"Calm down Charlie. What are you trying to say?"

"I'm not you Mr. Wonka! I don't think I can take this chocolate factory. I would fail. I would fail myself the factory…You!" he finished.

"But Charlie, the best thing any aspiring inventor can do is fail." said Willy.

Did he just hear him incorrectly? Did he really say failing was a good thing?

"Take my no melt ice cream. Do you really think I plunked myself in front of a chair, said "I'm going to make no melt ice cream!" then proceeded to my Inventing Room where I threw all the ingredients together and made it just like that?" Willy asked.

"Well…"

"No. In fact on my first try, not only did the ice cream melt in two seconds but it also melted the cone!"

"It melted the cone?"

"It melted the cone." Willy repeated. "But do you know what I did after I failed? I kept moving forward. I tried again. I failed. Another try. Failed once again. And again. And again. Finally 56 tries later I had it."

"It took you 56 tries to get it right?" Charlie said, amazed that his own mentor failed more than once.

"What I'm trying to tell you is that you can't let failure keep you from success. Do you know how many times I wanted to give up and sulk in the corner?"

Charlie's mouth hung open.

"Many times."

"Well even so I can't be amazing like you. I'm just ordinary."

"Wonderful Charlie! Then be ordinary! All I'm asking is for you to add the word extra to ordinary."

Willy stood up.

"Now if you excuse me I need to start making those raspberry kites we were talking about."

And just like that he was gone. But with that Charlie gained a sense of new hope. Maybe he could be like his mentor.