Without warning, a dark shadow absorbs Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin. They had been standing on the ground and looking at the moonlight and then the next moment it was as if there was nothing but black. Meg even wonders if the light of the moon had been turned off. She senses that Calvin and Charles Wallace are also disappearing. She calls out to them and reaches for them, but she realizes she is all alone. Then even more astonishingly, Meg cannot even feel her own body. She wonders where it has gone.

Slowly, she begins to feel her body materialize. Her heart is beating. Her legs and arms are tingling. She wonders if she is dreaming, so she tries to wake herself up. Finally, she hears Charles Wallace’s voice. He is admonishing someone, telling them they could have at least provided a warning. Although Meg can hear Charles Wallace, she cannot quite manage to be with him. It is as if she is underwater and her brother is not. When she hears Calvin’s voice, she turns to see parts of him materialize—first a hand, then a foot. Charles Wallace calls to Meg. She tries to respond but cannot manage her voice. Then she feels something push her through what seems like a thin sheet of glass, and finally she is there.

She wonders where this place is. They had been in the midst of autumn, but now everything around them looks and smells of spring. Tender new grass is growing in a field of spring flowers. There are tall mountains in the distance; their tops are hidden by high clouds.

After staring at their new surroundings, Meg realizes that Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit are with them. Mrs. Who and Mrs. Whatsit are giggling. This annoys Charles Wallace a little, and he reminds them that it would be nice if they explained what just happened to Meg and Calvin. Mrs. Which tells Charles Wallace that when facing something as deadly serious as they are about to do, it is good to keep one’s sense of humor. She admits that Meg might have some trouble doing this. She also says they will need patience because not everything can be explained all at once. She does make it clear, however, that Charles Wallace and Meg’s father’s life is at stake. Apparently, Charles Wallace knows more about what is going on than either Meg or Calvin does. Mrs. Which also informs them that they are on the planet Uriel, the third planet of the star Malak.

Calvin has trouble believing what Mrs. Which is telling them. He claims that even if they had traveled the speed of light, it would have taken much longer for them to arrive at the distance Mrs. Which has claimed. Mrs. Which explains that they arrived at this point because they “tessered.” In other words, Mrs. Which adds, “we wrinkled.” She adds that they have stopped on Uriel merely to rest. They still have farther to go.

While they rest, Mrs. Which tells Mrs. Whatsit to reveal her true self and take the children on a tour. Mrs. Whatsit changes into a magnificent being that reminds Meg of a centaur with wings. The children climb onto her back, and she flies them around parts of the planet, ending their trip high in the sky above the mountaintops. While there, they get their first glimpse of what they assume is a terrible evil. It appears to them as a very dark cloud that blots out all light. Afterward, Meg asks if it is that “dark Thing” that her father is fighting.