The Night Gardener

In the letter from the knothole, Kip and Molly’s parents detail their adventures on the high seas and describe their endeavors to find their way back to their children. When Kip asks how the letter came, Molly says it came via “special delivery.” Kip wants to be annoyed at the mysterious answer, but he cannot because just seeing this “proof” that his parents are alive makes him release “a breath he had been holding on to for a very long time” (161).

Kip tells his sister about the tree roots and asks when he and Molly will leave. Molly points to a line on the letter from their parents that reads “Stay put no matter what” and says they can’t leave the manor if they want to see their parents again (163). Kip doesn’t like it, but he agrees and hugs Molly, who shakes with silent tears.

Molly concludes that the tree is magic and grants one wish per person. She asks Alistair about his sweets, and he explains that his father used to take him to the sweet shop in town. Not wanting to appear greedy, Alistair would only buy one small thing, even though he wanted more. When they moved to the house, his father stopped taking him into town, and Alistair asked the tree for sweets because he missed going out with his father and wished he had bought a larger supply of sweets when he had the chance.