Mary discovers Colin Craven

Mary Lennox's discovery of Colin Craven is the pivotal event that breaks the long silence of Misselthwaite Manor and sets in motion the healing of two isolated children. On a stormy night, driven by the sound of crying she had heard before, Mary leaves her room, follows the fretful wailing through dark corridors, and pushes open a door to find a boy lying in a carved four-posted bed—a boy no one had told her existed. This midnight meeting, born of mutual loneliness and curiosity, forges a secret bond that will ultimately lead both children out of their separate prisons of illness and despair.

The Cry in the Night

Mary had heard the crying twice before—once when the wind blew open a door and once while wandering the corridors—but each time the servants denied it, claiming it was the wind or a scullery-maid with toothache. On this night, however, the rain poured down and the wind "wuthered" so fiercely that Mary could not sleep. Lying awake, she heard the sound again, distinct from the storm: "a far-off faint sound of fretful crying." Determined to solve the mystery, she slipped out of bed, took her candle, and crept through the long, dark corridors, her heart beating so loudly she fancied she could hear it. The crying led her past the tapestry door Mrs. Medlock had come through, down a passage, up two broad steps, and finally to a door with a glimmer of light beneath it. There, she pushed it open and found herself standing in a big, handsome room with a low fire and a night light burning beside a carved four-posted bed hung with brocade.

The Boy in the Bed

On the bed lay a boy with a sharp, delicate face the color of ivory, eyes too large for his face, and heavy locks of hair tumbling over his forehead. He looked like a boy who had been ill, but he was crying more from tiredness and crossness than pain. When he saw Mary standing with her candle, his gray eyes opened so wide they seemed immense. "Who are you?" he whispered, half-frightened. "Are you a ghost?" Mary, equally startled, asked if he were one. He stared at her for a long moment before answering, "No, I am Colin." When Mary asked who Colin was, he replied, "I am Colin Craven. Who are you?" She told him she was Mary Lennox, his uncle's niece, and he revealed the astonishing truth: "He is my father." Mary gasped, for no one had ever told her Mr. Craven had a son.

The First Conversation

Colin made Mary come close to the bed and touched her to confirm she was real, explaining that he often had dreams so vivid he could not tell them from reality. Mary let him feel the thick wool of her wrapper and offered to pinch him to prove she was real. They talked for hours. Colin told her he was always ill, had to lie down, and believed he would die—that his father hated to look at him because his mother had died when he was born, and that he might grow a hunchback like his father. Mary, in turn, told him about India, the robin, and the gardens. When she mentioned the garden Mr. Craven hated because his wife died there, Colin became intensely interested, asking question after question about the hidden garden. Mary, terrified he would demand to have it opened, pleaded with him to keep it a secret, and he agreed, captivated by the idea of a secret of his own. Before she left, she sang him a Hindustani lullaby, stroking his hand until he fell asleep.

Consequences and Transformation

The discovery had immediate and far-reaching effects. Colin, who had never wanted to see anyone, now insisted Mary come to talk to him every day. He ordered the servants to obey his commands, protecting Martha from Mrs. Medlock's wrath. Dr. Craven and Mrs. Medlock were astonished to find the invalid boy laughing and sitting up, his appetite improved and his mood transformed. Mary, who had been lonely and contrary, found a purpose and a companion. The secret of Colin's existence, once a source of fear and silence, became the foundation of a new alliance. Together, Mary and Colin began to plan how he might one day visit the secret garden, a plan that would ultimately lead to his physical and emotional recovery. The discovery of Colin was not merely the revelation of a hidden family member; it was the moment when two isolated children recognized each other's loneliness and began to heal.