A Wrinkle in Time opens on “a dark and stormy night” (3). Meg lies awake, thinking about how much she dislikes herself and her life. Most of all, she thinks about how much she wishes her father would come back. He disappeared some time ago without explanation, and Meg misses him fiercely.

Unable to fall back asleep, Meg goes downstairs to the kitchen to make cocoa. Charles Wallace and her mother are there, and Charles Wallace heats milk for cocoa. Meg marvels at how Charles Wallace always seems to know what she is thinking or doing. Meg’s anxiety about the storm wanes, replaced by concerns for how people make fun of Charles Wallace. Charles Wallace doesn’t talk to people outside of his family, and the way people look at him like he’s stupid infuriates Meg.

Charles Wallace wants to tell someone called Mrs. Whatsit about Meg. When pressed, he won’t reveal anything else about this mystery person, but before Meg or her mother can ask again, Mrs. Whatsit, an old woman wearing an odd assortment of clothes, shows up at their house. The Murrys express concern about her being out in the storm, to which Mrs. Whatsit responds, “wild nights are my glory” (21).