The Prologue begins with large white text on a black page: “WARNING: DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS PAGE!” On the next page, the narrator cautions that this book contains a dangerous secret. He warns of the peril that could come from reading the book; nevertheless, he invites the reader to continue.

Chapter 1 comprises two pages written entirely in Xs, indicating redacted content.

The narrator apologizes for the previous chapter, explaining that he had to obscure its contents to prevent the reader from learning any expository details. Although this is a story about a secret, it’s also a “secret story” (5), and so the narrator cannot divulge any revealing details, not even the characters’ names and descriptions or the story’s setting. Instead, he gives his characters false names and establishes the setting in vague terms like “Your Hometown,” “Your School,” “Your Street,” etc., to give the reader something to picture while withholding any revealing details. At the end of the chapter, he answers the question that he assumes is on the reader’s mind: Why write the story if it’s so dangerous? Because, the narrator says, “I can’t keep a secret.