"This is an outrage! I wont stand for it!"

It was always hard to tune out Mrs. Carr's ravings. Especially when the heads of the elementary school were involved.

Rachel did her best to ignore her mother. She waited patiently for the enraged matriarch in the corridor. Her fingers playing with a feather she had found in the garden.

"We cant do it, Mrs. Carr. Our facility doesn't have the means to meet your daughter's needs."

"Oh I see. No defective children allowed!"

"Mrs. Carr, please! We are not doubting Rachel's intelligence. Its just that her condition requires a full time aide and-"

"She's blind, not retarded!" spat Mrs. Carr. "All she needs is braille and the type-writer."

"I'm sorry ma'am. But the answer is no. Now I can refer you to The Belmont Academy. They specialize in children like Rachel."

This only brought more argument. Picking up her stick, the little girl left the grownups to their ramblings.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

Rachel's walking stick clicked along the linoleum floor. Carefully she counted every step. If she could just remember where the front door was...

"Oh... sorry"

Rachel instantly recognized the voice.

"Willy?"

"Yeah" Willy said, trying to keep the eagerness from his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Mum's trying to get me in. Its not going to good."

Rachel waited for Willy to respond.

"Look" she said. "I'm sorry your dad made you play with me. I know you didn't want to."

"It's okay. You're kinda fun... For a girl, I mean."

A smile quickly found its way to Rachel's cheek.

"I got to get out of here. It's the only thing you can do when Mum's on a war path" she said. "You know where the exit is?"

"Keep going down this hall. When you reach the end, take a left, and then another left. It'll lead you right out to the playground.

Willy watched her leave with stars in his eyes. He couldn't explain why he found her so beguiling. Nevertheless, she was the sun and the moon.

It took alot of concentration for Mr. Wonka to keep Rachel from his mind. But no matter how hard he tried, her dead eyes kept reappearing. Even as he dined with the Bucketts, his little Rae-Rae was there.

"Are you positive you're okay?" Charlie asked again.

"Yeah. I'm super... By they way, do you know where The Belmont School is?"

Instantly Willy bit his tongue. He wished a thousand times he'd have just kept quiet.

"I think I know" said Mr. Buckett. "Its a school for the blind. They're supposed to do wonders. Why do you ask."

Mr. Wonka couldn't stop himself.

"Someone I used to know went there. I just cant stop thinking about her."

"HER?" Charlie blurted out. Mr. Wonka turned three shades paler.

"Yeah? So what! She was my friend when we were kids. I just haven't seen her in a while."

A while? Try a millennium.

"You should call her" offered Mrs. Buckett. "I bet she'd love to hear from you."

"I cant, I don't know her phone number. Besides, what would I say!"

"Then go to the school. I'll come with you if you want." said Charlie valiantly. He seemed to always be coming to his mentor's rescue as of late.

"Hey, yeah!" Mr. Wonka beamed. "Great idea! First thing tomorrow, kay?"

The Belmont Academy was indeed an impressive building. An old Victorian structure, it would have made an excellent haunted house during halloween.

"Why do they have bars on the windows" thought Willy. "Its not like they've got crazy people here."

A revolving door welcomed Charlie and Mr. Wonka inside. It was all the chocolateer could do to keep his coattails from getting stuck.

"Wow! Quite the place" mused Charlie.

Belmont's interior was nothing like its facade. Sleek and modern, everything was updated and efficient. A receptionist chattered away on a handsfree phone while she typed on a laptop.

"Excuse me" Charlie queried. "We need to know about someone who used to live here."

"Do you know their name?" asked the receptionist, not looking away from the screen.

"Her names' Rachel Carr. She was a student here."

"Hold on a moment, please."

Still without regarding the visitors, the receptionist dialed in a number on the computer.

"Hello, Rachel? You've got some visitors. That's right. The main foyer."

For Mr. Wonka, minutes felt like hours. His lavender eyes rested on the handsome wall clock behind the desk. Everything was taking so long.

Where is she!

"Ah, Miss Carr. Are you feeling any better today?"

For a single moment, Willy Wonka felt lighter than air. As graceful as an egret, Rachel descended the stairs. Her dainty hands gripping the trusty walking stick. Nothing had changed. She was still the beautiful child of nature that had captivated him so long ago.

"Is somebody roasting peanuts?" Rachel sniffed.

Willy's gloves squeaked indignantly.

"Rachel, its me. Remember? Its Willy."

Instantly the young woman's hands cupped themselves around her lips.

"Oh my... Willy? Willy Wonka?"

"That's right."

Now he had the receptionist's attention.

"So Mr. Wonka. Will our school be receiving your candy?"

Rachel's jaw went slack.

"You're that Willy Wonka?"

"Ofcourse I am. I mean, how many other Wonka's do you know."

"Sorry" Rachel smiled. "I haven't had candy in ages. Oh, but its great to see you."

Without warning, the woman threw herself into Mr. Wonka's arms. For a moment Willy bristled against such physical contact. But as he gazed into those dead eyes, all discomfort vanished. He was with his Rachel again.

"Come on" she said. "I must show you my room."

Though he would have ever admitted it, Willy had no interest in seeing Rachel's dorm. He would have preferred to take her back to the factory. The smells and tastes would have been far more stimulating than a drafty room at a Blind home.

"Here we are."

While Rachel busied herself in the kitchen nook, Willy and Charlie surveyed the area. Nothing much out of the ordinary. The cheap furniture and sparse decorations were like any dormitory fixtures.

But something caught Mr. Wonka's eye.

A pair of tiny knitted socks lay on the desk.

"I didn't know you were into knitting" called Willy.

"I'm not" Rachel said. "Those were a gift. I have to give them back, though."

"Why?"

"Its kind of a long story."

Suddenly a knot formed in the chocolateer's throat. As he watched Rachel in the kitchen, his eyes lingered on the slight bulge under her t-shirt.

"Rachel... " He quaked. "Are you... you..."

With sad eyes, Miss Carr returned to her bedroom.

"I'm afraid so..."

Without warning, Willy Wonka dropped to a dead faint on the floor.