Snow so soft and white you would think it was powdered sugar sprinkled down from the sky, blanketing the meadow. Jean closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue to catch some snowflakes, and to her surprise it was actually powdered sugar. When she opned her eyes again, it was to see that she was no longer in the dreary empty meadow, but in a brightly colored landscape, with flowing rivers and twisted trees that gave plenty of cover from the snow. She saw her little brother, richly dressed with clothes that fitted perfectly and had no patches on them. He was smiling and was happy, and she saw her mother also dressed like a queen. Looking down, Jean saw on herself a resplendent gown, stitched with sliver and gold thread. A rider on horse back came up alongside her. He was handsome and his eyes glittered with kindness.

"Jean...Jean...JEAN BUCKET!"

Jean snapped out of her daydream. Her employer was calling her from the front of the store. Quickly, she made sure that her hair was pulled back out of the way and that her apron was tied before looking at the clock and realizing what the matter was. School got out at 3:15 and it was now 3:30! Just after school gets out is the busiest time of day for the candy store! She quickly grabbed a heavy box of the newest candy confection, Wonka Scrumdiddileumptious Bars, and made her way to the front of the store. Kids were everywhere, grabbing candy off of the shelves and stuffing what they had bought into their mouths. She saw the store owner, Bill, cornered with little children pressing in on him on all sides.

She sighed, she had told him that it wasn't a good idea to let the kids behind the counter. Doing her best to imitate her mother when she was trying to corral her brother to get him to bed, she herded the children from out behind the counter, before handing the box of candy to Bill and taking her station at the soda counter.

It took about an hour, but soon most of the children had left, and the store was relatively empty once again.

"Where were you earlier, Jean? I was being maliciously mauled and had no one to come to my rescue. Where you daydreaming again?"

Jean laughed before replying. She knew that Bill loved his job and saw some of the children who came in regularly as his own. Quietly, she nodded her head and proceeded to restock the now relatively empty shelves. "When does the commercial come on?"

Bill looked at his watch. "In a few minutes."

As he went to go get the radio so he could hear the new commercial for his shop, a scruffy looking boy walked in. He was horribly skinny and his cloths were patched up to the point that it was hard to tell what color the piece of clothing originally was. He looked like he would hardly have enough money to buy a meal, much less have some left over to buy some candy, but Jean beamed when he walked through the door. "Charlie!" Jean ran up to the disheveled looking boy and gave him a hug. "Are you done with your paper route already?"

He pulled away and shook his head. "No. I just wanted to hear my big sis sing in the new commercial."

Bill had the radio from the break room out on the store counter and was flipping through stations until he found the right one. Jean set Charlie on the counter as he continued to talk. "You worked really hard on writing that jingle, and you were so brave to sing it." Charlie watched as his sister began to blush. She was really shy, so Charlie always tried to encourage her when she did something out of her comfort zone. They only had to wait a minute or two before the commercial came on and they could hear Jean's voice singing:

Who can take the sunrise? Sprinkle it with dew?
Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two?
The Candy Man!
The Candy Man can 'Cause he mixes it with love And makes the world taste good.

Come down to the Candy Man confectionery store on the corner of 4t-

All of the sudden, the radio station switched itself halfway through Bill telling the store address. "No! No! Tell them the address!"

"We interrupt this program to give you this breaking news. Willy Wonka, the famous chocolatier has made an announcement. We all know the famous reclusive man, even though no one has been seen coming or going from his factory for years, his candies have remained the most beloved confections of all time. Most well known of which is the Wonka Bar. Today, this mysterious man has broken his silence and announced a contest." he shuffling of papers was heard before the newscaster cleared his throat and continued. "'Dear people of the world... I, Willy Wonka, have decided to let five children visit my factory. One of these children will receive a special prize beyond the imagination of any human. Five golden tickets have been hidden inside the packing of five chocolate Wonka Bars. These chocolate bars can be anywhere... in any store, in any street, in any city, in any country... of the world.' We here at Morning News 5 will be giving you constant updates as the world eagerly watches this contest unfold. This is anchor man John Roga, signing off." The radio then returned to normal, with the commercial long over and long forgotten.

"Wonka's opening his doors?" Bill mused.

"Wonka. As in Willy Wonka? Like grandpa Joe tells us stories about?" Jean silently nodded to her brother's question. Both her and Charlie were enraptured by the stories they were told of the mysterious man. The shop was silent for a moment, before a large gaggle of people burst into the shop demanding Wonka bars by the dozen. Charlie was whisked out of the shop and Jean and Bill had their hands full trying to fulfill the orders of everyone.

Jean was doing her best to help the customers, but her head was already in the clouds, imaging who this mysterious man Willy Wonka was, and what it would be like to win a golden ticket and meet him in person.