To Be Young
When Willy Wonka was younger and had people running around the factory doing jobs that his much smaller workers now did, he had a few specific friends that he held close.
One of these friends was a girl in her early twenties named Matilda. She was a really energetic woman and always knew how to cheer people up. People thought that she got this playful nature from her father who worked at Disneyland when it first opened.
"This is the second happiest place on earth!" she would exclaim to the workers on a bad day. "Imagine how much more unhappy you would be if you worked anywhere else."
Then, amidst all this cheerfulness, a gloomy day came to the factory. One day, Matilda didn't show up to work. This absence continued for several weeks and all the workers, particularly Willy Wonka were worried about what happened to her.
However, when she did finally return, she had a rather cold first meeting with her boss.
"Where have you been? It's been weeks and you never call!" he exclaimed.
"I…I know Mr. Wonka. I've been in the hospital."
"But you look fine! Why were you there?"
Matilda sighed and sat down on a cushy white chair that sat in front of Wonka's desk. He joined her a few seconds later.
"It's more of an internal thing Mr. Wonka. The doctor says I have Cardiomegaly."
Willy paused and stared at Matilda as if he had never seen her before. She looked completely fine!
"What's Cardiomegaly?"
"Just…It's a fancy term that means that I have a…That is to say…"
Matilda stared into her boss's face and his expression was tender.
"I have a large heart."
Willy continued to look at his friend with a tender look for a few moments before his face broke into a smile.
"Oh, is that all? Every one knows you have a large heart!" Willy said.
"How? Did my mother phone when I was with the doctor?"
"No."
"Then how could you possibly have known?"
"It was instantaneous from when we met you. Everyone knows you are warm and caring and…"
"Stop. No."
"It's the truth."
"I know. It's just…Mr. Wonka…it's not like that. I love the workers but my heart…my heart…it's not supposed to be big like this. The doctor said I'm in a stressful work situation, and I shouldn't be doing anything that may keep me from preventing further complications from the condition."
"So…You're leaving? You can't leave!"
"Mr. Wonka…I fear there might not be a cure and I…"
Willy's expression was one of mixed sadness and shock. Then, once again, his expression rapidly changed.
"Wait here!"
Willy then got up from his chair and went into a backroom behind his office. A few minutes later, he came out with a glass of orange juice.
"Maybe this will make you feel better." He said, handing it to her.
"There's no alcohol in this is there?" Matilda asked, gingerly sniffing it.
"None. Just try it."
Matilda gave Willy one last, apprehensive glance before taking a sip.
"Hmm. This is quite strange Mr. Wonka. This juice tastes different from what I have for breakfast."
"Yes, well It's a bit different."
Matilda took another sip.
"It tastes wonderful but…"
"What?"
"It makes me feel strange. I feel as if I'm falling."
"Oh really?"
Matilda's face turned to shock.
"You did put something in this! What's happening to me? I'm getting…I'm getting…younger?"
Before Willy Wonka's eyes he saw his dear friend, scream in panic as she became…eighteen….then fifteen….then ten, until finally, a wailing baby sat in the white chair. It took only a few seconds, and then that baby vanished, sending the glass of juice tumbling to the ground, where it smashed, the contents spilling out.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. In twenty years, there will be a cure and you will be well again.
Then, in just twenty years, Willy Wonka was betrayed, closed his factory, reopened his factory to five children and ended up with an heir to his chocolate empire. How was he possibly going to tell Charlie that upstairs in his bedroom, there was a bassinet with a little baby Matilda in it?
This story will be presented in two chapters. Hope you enjoyed the first one.