The history book

"This book," their grandfather said, pulling an old book off the shelf and carrying it to the table, "has been passed down through this generation for safekeeping for generations." Carefully, he placed the dusty, leather-bound book down on the table, and gently wiped some of the dust away from the leather. It was decorated with swirling, intertwining designs of styles which Greg and Malory couldn't recognize. In the very center of the designs, however, was the distinct depiction of man who, upon closer inspection, looked remarkably like their grandfather in old pictures which they had seen in photo albums.

"What is it?" Greg asked, reaching out to touch it before being stopped by his grandfather. He was deathly curious about what was inside of it, and he could practically feel that pages of it calling out to him to turn them and read them.

"It is a history of our family," his grandfather responded, "more detailed and accurate than you could ever imagine. One day, the story of your lives will be placed inside it as well, and those of your children, and your children's children." He was grinning at the two of them, clearly filled with pride, both in what was already inside of the book, and what would be in it in the future.

"So do we have to feel the pages out ourselves?" Malory asked, looking at the thick book. "Cause neither of our handwritings are very good, and I'd feel bad filling it up with something people couldn't even read."

Their grandfather chuckled and shook his head. "You'll be filling it up yourselves," he told them, "but you won't have to worry about your handwriting." The children looked up at him, confused by what he was saying, which caused him to chuckle more. "I know," he continued, "it's confusing. But it will all make sense in time. Well... For the most part."

"Nothing you are saying to us makes any sense," Greg complained. "How are we supposed to fill it up if we don't write in it? And what is 'for the most part' supposed to mean? Are you saying you don't fully understand the book?"

"I understand what is in the book," their grandfather explained, "as will you, but how it got there is not quite as clear."

"Are you going to let us see the inside of the book or not?" Malory asked, pouting.

The grandfather chuckled to himself and kneeled down in front of the table. "Very well," he said, "but you must be ready. Do you swear to me that you are ready?" The children leaned over the table and nodded fervently that they were. Slowly and carefully, the old man lifted the cover of the book and turned to the first page. The pages were clearly old and faded, but not a word was written on a single page.

Before the children could question this, however, suddenly words leaped into their minds. Their brains were filled with the history of the first ancestors who had used the book, hundreds of years prior, and they knew them intimately, as if they had grown up and lived with them.

After only a moment, their grandfather closed the book once again, a wide smile on his face. The two children sat back, eyes struggling to focus as they took in the things which they had just learned and experienced. "What was that?" Greg asked after a long time as he began to gain his focus again.

"That," his grandfather told him, "was your history."