Gumdrops Falling From a Cotton Candy Sky
By Aina Riddle
Chapter four: Cotton Candy Sky (part 2)
I promptly lose my breath as my mom grabs my hand tightly with a gasp of her own as we see what is behind the door.
The room before us is breathtaking and has a mixture of so many different scents of candy. With this room alone all of our food problems would be solved and we wouldn't have to face the harsh reality of the outside world anymore… In front of us is a large, chocolate waterfall gushing from the grayish white walls before the river it forms cuts through the bright green grass, washing away the shades of gray. It's a place of paradise and it's simply beautiful with the colorful plants and soothing atmosphere.
"Now do be careful my dear children." Mr. Wonka says as he leads us into the room, swinging his cane as he talks. He watches the waterfall as he continues speaking. "Don't lose your heads-"Augustus drops his candy bar in shock "-Don't get overexcited, just keep very calm." I look at the scenery again, seeing the bright red fruits of some sort hanging on the vine-like leaves of a strangely colored weeping willow, hanging over the chocolate river.
"It's beautiful," I say, looking around before jumping as Mr. Wonka responds. I had almost forgotten I wasn't alone.
"What?" My words had seemed to shock him as he looks at me before giving me a smile. "Oh yes, it's very beautiful." He leads us over a land bridge, under which runs the river. "Every drop of this river is hot, melted chocolate of the finest quality." We pause in front of the waterfall and he turns to us as he begins to explain. "The waterfall is very important. It churns the chocolate, makes it light, and frothy." He waves his hands around as he explains which is something I tend to do when explaining as well.
"By the way, no other factory in the world mixes its chocolate by waterfall, my dear children. And you can take that to the bank." He says, his last statement showing his lack of trust in us, but I admit that if I was in his position I wouldn't trust these brats either. I try to ignore the fact that he doesn't trust me as well. He moves forward again, before gesturing for us to go ahead of him.
"People," I pause right next to him at his word, having been passing him when he said it. He points toward a large pipe hovering over the river. "Those pipe suck up the chocolate. And carry it away, all over the factory." The waves his hand around when he says 'all over' and I smile at how proud he is of his work. He should be since he's the one who created this paradise. "Thousands of gallons an hour. Yeah." He grins before gesturing to the rest of the room.
"And do you like my meadow? Try some of my grass." I bend down and pick up a blade from the edge of the bridge since those probably haven't been stepped on. "Please have a blade, please do. It's so delectable and so darn good-looking." Everyone looks at him as if he's crazy (Which I can't really argue with at this point, but not everyone is perfect. At least crazy people like him don't intentionally harm you), but I try the blade of grass. I suck on it, receiving a chocolaty mint taste.
"Wow…" I say in wonder, my gaze turning to Mr. Wonka. "It's delicious!"
"Yeah. Everything in this room is eatable, even I'm eatable, but that is called cannibalism, my dear children, and is, in fact, frowned upon in most societies. Yeah" He explains, as if cannibalism is a normal, everyday topic. "Enjoy." I give him a smile before stumbling as my mom pulls me away and towards some candy cane trees. I can faintly hear him shooing the other children away as we stop and my mom turns to me with a serious look. She touches her fingers to her lips in nervousness and I tilt my head to the side in confusion.
"You like him, don't you? You really, truly, like him?" I hold in my instinctive 'no' as I think about her questions. I really care about what he thinks of me and I must admit I have a fondness for his quirks and have always been obsessed (which I'll now admit is true) with him. I think I have grown to like him through the vision I created of him, and now through the real thing.
"…Yes, I think I do," I respond slowly, quietly, and she gives a sigh, running her hands through her hair in frustration. "Do you disagree? I'll ignore this crush if you disagree…" And it's true, I will ignore my growing fondness for Mr. Wonka for my mom's sake, because she's my best friend and I don't want her to be disappointed with me; I've always longed for approval.
"No, it's fine," She replies before reaching over and smoothing out a wrinkle in my dress. "Just be careful, there's something…off…about him that makes me not want to trust him." I nod and we hug before I push her away towards the rest of the meadow.
"Thank you mom, but now go enjoy yourself." I order and she complies, she pauses when Mr. Wonka walks into our little clearing, but she just glances back at me briefly before walking away. I get the message; she wants me to be careful. I give him a nervous smile, my heart beating loudly in my ears as I wonder if he had heard our conversation.
"Hello…" I start as he stops near me, looking unsure of how to start a conversation.
"Hi! Do you like my meadow?" I nod enthusiastically, walking over to a bush and kneeling down before it. The leaves seem to be made of the same stuff as the grass as they give off a minty smell while the large, beautiful white roses seems to be made of white chocolate. "These are so beautiful, is the "wood" of the bush made from chocolate covered pretzels?"
"Yeah," He agrees as he walks over and plucks off a rose, the largest one from what I can tell. "Here you are, you should eat something 'cause you're really skinny." I smile at the childish way he says that and at his innocent smile. My blue gaze catches his violet one momentarily and I see into them briefly once again and at the emotions swirling in them. A childish delight with his little world is first and behind that is affection? No, that can't be right… deeper I see a storm of darker emotions probably caused by his earlier flashback.
"Thank you," I gently pluck the flower from his hand and feel shocked at how much it actually feels like a flower petal. "It's so soft! You're amazing!"
"Thanks! Oh yeah, do you really have a fascination with me?" I blush, looking down at the rose as I trace the petals softly, almost lovingly. I guess he must have a television somewhere in this place to know about that.
"Yes," I admit softly as I look over the river and see Mike kicking in a pumpkin. I absentmindedly pluck a bright red apple from the tree, the sent of caramel apple coming from it, before I toss it at Mike. Amazingly, I hit his head, but I had really been aiming at his chest so my aim really hasn't improved. "Little brat. Anyways, I have always been amazed at your candies. They're so creative and you can create a wonderland for your customers by doing what you love. I want to be a writer, you see, and I would love to have your level of creativity. I want to be able to make a story my readers can immerse themselves in…" I trail off as I feel my cheeks heat up, I hadn't meant to tell him so much.
"I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear the silly dreams of someone like me, Mr. Wonka," I say, turning around and looking at him nervously before I start to walk past him.
"Call me Willy; Mr. Wonka is too formal, yuck." I let out a laugh as he breaks the tense atmosphere and we both grin. "Dreams aren't silly, Chocolat." His statement is utterly serious and it catches me off guard before we are interrupted.
"What is it? It's a little person!" Veruca's excited shouts to her father sound throughout the room and we all walk towards her. Mr. Wonka…Willy, walks behind me and his face lights up when we see the strange little men, who seem to have an orange tint to their skin. More show up and I see that they seem to be pruning the meadow, for lack of a better word, and I laugh as the jackhammer one is wielding causes his little form to shake a lot.
"What are they?"
"Where did they come from?" I don't catch who says any of those things as my mom comes and stands beside me, eyeing Willy cautiously. I give her a smile and break off a petal of the rose for her before eating one of my own.
"Are they real people?" Mike asks, his tone showing he has already decided that they aren't.
"Of course they're real people, they're Oompa-Loompas," Willy says and I see Mrs. Beauregarde standing behind him and awfully close. I shift a little closer to him by leaning my weight on my right leg since Willy is to my right.
"Oompa-Loompas?" Mr. Salt asks incredulously.
"Uh-huh, imported, direct from Loompaland." I raise an eyebrow at that, but choose to instead just look up at him curiously.
"There's no such place," Mr. Teavee says and Willy turns his head towards him slightly with a calm expression on his face.
"Of course there is," He argues before Mr. Teavee speaks up again.
"Mr. Wonka, I teach high school geography and I'm here to tell you--"
"Well then you'll know all about it and, oh, what a terrible country it is," Willy says before he goes into detail about how he went on a trip to find exotic new flavors for candy and ending up finding the Oompa-Loompas. When he mentions eating the green caterpillars I scrunch up my nose in disgust, feeling that slime going down my throat just from thinking about it. Willy gives me a small smile before he continues to tell us about how the Oompa-Loompas worshiped the cocoa bean and that he said he would give them all the cocoa beans they wanted if they came to work for him. "They are such wonderful workers. I feel I must warn you, though, they are rather mischievous. Always making jokes." He laughs and I jump at a shout.
"Augustus, my son that is not a good thing you do!" Mrs. Gloop shouts, looking over at a bank where Augustus is greedily drinking handfuls of chocolate from the river.
"Hey, little boy!" Willy shouts, walking forward and holding his hand up to make a point. "My chocolate must be untouched by human hands." Augustus suddenly loses his balance and falls into the river, being swallowed by the chocolate. I let out a small gasp and my mom covers her mouth with her empty hand in shock, Mrs. Gloop seems even more shocked as she watches her son disappear with worry. Willy just looks away, not even surprised by the event.
"He'll drown! He can't swim, save him!" Mrs. Gloop shouts at Willy frantically, but he just remains calm and watches. How can he just stand there and watch? I move forward, ready to jump into the river just to stop Mrs. Gloop's worrying.
"Chocolat, no! You can't swim very well either!" I dodge my mom's grasp, but stop as Willy puts his cane in front of me to block my way.
"Augustus! No!" I push away his cane as Augustus goes under and his mother screams. I can't just let a child drown and even though I won't be much help, at least I'll die with a good conscience since I'm the only one that seems willing to do something. Willy grabs my arm in a surprisingly strong grip and I can feel the warmth of his hand through his glove as he points toward the pipe that sucks up the chocolate, which is heading down near Augustus.
The pipe lands in the river and begins sucking up the chocolate with amazing force, causing a whirlpool to form below it. The suction of the pool starts dragging Augustus toward it and I calm as I realize Willy's plan. "Augustus! Augustus, watch out!" I have to trust that he really was planning that the pipes would land there and at this time, because I don't want to lose my faith in him. I don't want him to be just another harsh lesson from the real world. The pipe sucks Augustus in and he gets stuck about halfway up and the pipe begins to burst from the pressure gathering up.
"There he goes," Violet says, not even caring about her companion's fate.
"Call the fire brigade!" Mrs. Gloop shouts, still overwhelmed with worry about her son.
"It's a wonder that pipe is big enough," Mrs. Beauregarde says, amazed.
"Obviously it's not since he's stuck, but the pressure is building and he'll shoot up again soon." I pause before looking at Mrs. Gloop with worry, I feel so sorry for her. "He might gain a cracked or broken rib, though, from being forced through a too small space." I absently touch my own ribs, remembering the ache I had been ignoring as it returns full force now that it has my attention. I grit my teeth, but ignore the pain as a strange humming fills the air. "The Oompa-Loompas?
"Do you think he'll get enough air to last until the chocolate is dumped?" My mom asks, grabbing my other arm just in case I do still run out at the answer.
"What are they doing?" Veruca asks as she sees the Oompa-Loompas beginning to dance.
"Why, I do believe they are going to treat us to a little song," Willy says, smiling slightly. "It is quite a special occasion of course. They haven't had a fresh audience in many a moon." I keep my eyes on Augustus as the Oompa-Loompas begin to sing, but when I see that he isn't panting for air I calm and begin to watch the little people.
Augustus Gloop, Augustus Gloop
The great big greedy Nincompoop
Augustus Gloop, so big and vile,
so greedy foul and infantile
Come on, we cry, the time is ripe
to send him shooting up the pipe
But don't, dear children be alarmed,
Augustus Gloop will not be harmed,
Augustus Gloop will not be harmed.
Willy is nodding his head to the music and it comes to me that he just might be so far out of tune with the world that he doesn't understand just how much danger Augustus is in. I really hope that's the reason as his grip still on my arm is finally realized and dropped. The Oompa-Loompas begin dancing and then swim in the chocolate as they continue singing.
Although of course we must admit,
he will be altered quite a bit
Slowly wheels go round and round,
and cogs begin to grind and pound
This greedy brute, this louse's ear,
is loved by people everywhere,
for who could hate or bear a grudge
against a luscious bit of fudge?
"Is he really going to become fudge?" I ask and my mom once again tightens her grip just in case, but my question goes unnoticed. As we watch Augustus shoot up the pipe from the built up pressure and I sigh in relief as the boy thinks to get a breath before the chocolate covers him.
"Bravo! Well done!" Willy shouts towards the retreating Oompa-Loompas, clapping his hands with a grin on his face. "Wasn't that just wonderful?" He asks and I nod, giving him a small smile.
"It was a nice tune, I'm going to have it in my head for a while," I admit, watching as the pipe leaves the room. I already can't lie to him, because it was an interesting tune and I know that Augustus will be fine.
"It seemed a bit rehearsed," Mr. Salt says, looking at the chocolatier with suspicion.
"Yeah, like it was planned," Mike adds and Willy pouts at their accusations.
"Oh, poppycock," He says, turning away.
"Where is my son? Where does that pipe go to?" Mrs. Gloop demands, a quaver in her voice.
"That pipe just so happens to lead directly to the room where I make the most delicious kind of strawberry-flavored, chocolate-coated fudge." Willy states with a smile and Mrs. Gloop begins rambling.
"Then he will be made into strawberry-flavored, chocolate-coated fudge. They'll be selling him by the pound all over the world!" I shudder a little at that thought and feel guilty for it, but cannibalism is a horrible thing.
"Uh, no. I wouldn't allow it." Willy responds simply and Mrs. Gloop relaxes slightly. I'm glad he's finally taking charge of the situation. "The taste would be terrible, could you imagine Augustus flavored, chocolate-coated gloop?" Well, at least he's taking control if not for the right reason. "Ew, the taste would be terrible." He turns and makes a strange noise, which calls an Oompa-Loompa over.
"I want you to take Mrs. Gloop up to the Fudge Room, Kay?" He asks of the little man. "Take a big stick and poke around in the big chocolate mixing barrel." He imitates the actions he's ordering with his cane. "Kay?" The Oompa-Loompa crosses his arms and Willy does the same before the worker walks over to Mrs. Gloop and leads her away.
"I really hope Augustus is okay?" I whisper to my mom as we all begin walking again. "No one deserves to drown…"
"He's fine, he'll be saved like you were," My mom responds and we return to the conversation at hand as Willy speaks towards Mike.
"You really shouldn't mumble I can't understand a word you're saying." I smile at that, knowing he's just ignoring whatever Mike's saying. I try to get Augustus out of my mind, trying to not dwell on Willy not really caring about the boy's plight. I'm just hoping it's because he knows he will be fine.
I really hope so.