Those 10 Years went FAST!

Peaceful right?

Hey Superhero! As I write this, you're about to turn 27 in a few days. According to my plan, by this age you should have been engaged to your best friend, editing Glamour Magazine and sipping colorful martinis at posh nightspots in Manhattan. None of that happened. I hope it never happened. That's not really who you are. You spent a long time trying to fit yourself into the box of what you thought you wanted, when really, that wouldn't have made you as happy as you liked to waste your time imagining it would. Now it's April 22, 2021. You're an energetic, accomplished 37 year old who dresses well, albeit a bit eccentrically, but not over the top. I hope you're writing. A lot. Way more than you were 10 years ago. You've published a book of poems, haven't you? I bet you're in the New Yorker all the time. You're probably a Pulitzer Prize winner or poet laureate of the world. I hope you're still riding your motorcycle (and that it's bigger and faster now and also that it's a personal spacecraft!). I hope you've traveled all over the world, writing, meeting people and experimenting with your life. Do we have a house in Spain? I hope we have a house in Spain. If we don't, get on that, please. I hope you finished your 30 Before 30, are nearly finished your 40 Before 40 and have written your 50 Before 50. I hope none of those lists repeated any items. I'm excited to see what you come up with and how 10 years has changed your perspective on life and what you want out of it. I hope you do nice things for other people every day. I hope Muldoon is still around. He'll be almost 12. Harley would be almost 19 now... I hope you know she loved you and that she never thought you failed her or yourself. It was silly to ever think that and I don't know why or how she got connected to all that pain, but she loved you in a way that was supernatural for animals to even feel. I hope you got over feeling like you disappointed her. You didn't. Ever. I hope it's been 9 years since you've even thought about him. And I'm sorry for making you think about him now. I bet Harley forgot all about him. He was never the man he led you believe he was and he certainly wasn't deserving of all that love and admiration you gave him. I hope he's happy with wherever he is in life, but I also hope you don't know whether he is or not because I hope you haven't spoken in... almost 12 years now. I hope you have no idea who I'm talking about! I hope you still play video games unapologetically and wear heels regularly. I hope you laugh all the time with friends new and old who nourish your life with love and culture and new ideas. It's probably as weird for you to imagine me, your old self, as it is for me to imagine you, myself a decade from now. I can't even see a month into the future! Anyway, stay awesome. Let go and take what life gives you. Take action to get what it doesn't. See you in another 10 years! Alison

Epilogue

2 days later

Hi Alison,

I was not expecting this today. You sure had a vision of our future! I'm happy to report that the best parts all came true. Not without pain...

Uoy some you utb dwntea hgnyitreve tgo nhga)dce uyo estirpiori did it! and egrltg,su hghot(u. .
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In ew veli do aaamtnhtn. Had usidtn vaele ahd erbok yict pcoule nehw eeval cdahrse a sue,rggoo yuo uoy tohthgu you yruo agrd to arttmnaep cosblk teh nad rameapttn jtsu uyo gdrnui scoauspi - ot we stol ni ofmr ather adn the aehv teh eth kamrte yoru noe ouy aeesbuc hocols unyns mrdsae and a osphe deilv. Ayd evrye ubt do mstlao mhi oaubt 'mi oyr,sr hitnk ilstl yuo. Npskeo you mih siltl ainga ot tahn've. Onw byab miedarr 'hse a hwti. Uoy whta in uoy liek tboau olwdu a ttah it nebe euftur wiht weonrd lto evah. Eht twoyrh htat evopr eysra alst hmi to to erew pends ouy 10 ouy trygni. Yuo erwe alywas. Adn nogwr drpou eb ulyrt eeacbm uenjoyr hguhott eh uoy esoomne acn ,rwee on vleo oyu ihm tbaou atth ot woh tub ouy rvepo fo. Wudlo uyo eb dopur os so. Os are dorpu uoy. .
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Tol a yuo remo etwri. A ouy and etirw taedrst o,isitamu(b utb ew ropea dna lovne veha a ere'ntw reopyt awsy?la) orkc. Ubt ont tllis a s'ti b,eldhsiup olag tey. Sa like a lihpsub oyu glu,orma usndode a etwir utb ouy rof enrev fo did yte(h ielltycnhac) frieb orwet a idd tcnou rarece ttha inosmssbui moalru,g so ,enoc uoy aenhitmgr orf amed lwle' that. Uoy enrve ecth oncymap ni a nwgrkio gkanietrm ni demai no 'oyrue idx,tees samsiev oacsli a rof geadniim ictnslugon apth. Olev uyo ti. Are nad uory srtma epporutsiv iyilrcenbd rokreswoc. Fo uoy onolmdu ntprmatea clal ebscuae yuo edsi - oyur eht yrou by oury wkro eht - roifetav now to pceal htiw atnrcsyau teg cneapmi,d rmfo. .
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Is tllsi loomdnu dnouar. 21 rmusem isht he acecrn and llwi be aebt. C'tan vieeble an eth popele odl man etrest no s'eh. Teh apshteip eh het a regeny ofr ingeb has hdnogiboroeh sitll odg iotunperta ppuyp ni nad. Eyar tals spased chrma in rlayeh. Hse 81 nad swa asw ehs yerda. Het cats the oreth in muhc velo so ldveitou all fmayil gvae seh nad. Seymoad dan neo yuro tujs iwht rmfo yuo once to akcb dan pieorsmd gnhoue eoatomsrm it oyu ycn to rzyca ilevd ehr reh ongl ees toin oevm lsobkc ouy won hes make dy'ou the ehsdar ,neaatmtpr. Rayzc sit'. Of trefa nad ,sdepas one leryah i ogd ersbioghn emt the ehr. . . Denam lehayr. Hes asw yuo pmseiro illulff atht. .
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Yrtoeclmco iekb ni the on a( ??ytic we the ts!hk)an sdlo. Tilsl the wnkiorg piasn wer'e dnooc in no. Clhsoo uoy cuhrs uyg the htat dirmrea, in if ahtt bvleeie hda on ehgu ogt ew ,rlyifbe ghhi can ot yuo. Eb uto urtnde lelpdu vuebais aohiclcol arye dan anht a na taht he otu you of to ssle yufsroel ni. Plnarssoitihe scine very ta ncpgiki sntuid tno hhytale u'eryo gdoo. Metis! sngeli ndma on,w thta geaedng ubt ahieprp ebne ehtre eoyr'u erev eouy'v htan ywa. Hwo clinerdeib of ipusopetrv na sndrfie a uoy'ev way from aer prugo onknw you vaeh in all rvene vreo. .
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Eyra dah epde ujst nmoould eoidatsl iseemnm euant,naqri oyu eihwl and the dna aileyecpls ohwtgr oyv'eu ni ni last igan,hel. Iondg gmesa nda meka itliendeyf gaazmni tme mesart esmga thme eahv lpya a nemoy - ouy wh,ttic on it and itltel tllsi orhghut oyu rmeo eevn eovdi dnsierf nwe savuiro. Hwat setsrs adn do lses rfa eoyjn of omre uoy you. .
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010 a esmit heva ahev ermo 50 oltmsa ekbuct wgonirg a tisl olng we we htan adn ;50 erefbo. Negicxti a dna ltelit was sad 73 igurnnt. Ear vero a sdacr gib it leki lal evrwetha ti wlil tlliet ts'deno su os the rof tbu kolo anc be eilf kile dgnio ouy ft,le uchm klie it in hte herte's srte efsel so a eth ilstl dna ostieelsnm dneps fo milyfa you. Sfihin koob that. Ispan ot og. Iivst all nocttnesin het. Been uy'ove nad medai a tnaw all haucnteit ti lgvnii yuro gdino ymoumcitn usceabe taobu avewterh ekpe od diubl yuo ifle loacsi uyo gbien aonlg no ou!y nca toyoigcallplae ufll. .
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Hte hiwel su wya thta hdse' os hswi ew eltl ehs fiel heva medraed i dlo obtau hse ni tersro reya 71 ltef dluoc cakb og lslma eatpdrp nad ownt. .
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Voel you i. Uyo am i talgufre rof os. Evren pu aegv uoy. Etpk pnsuhgi you. Elrfshe uyo otrys smoe eows to hwo boe,hirrl ihts a vesvruid uyo nad rea it noeshiu lnyo seusccs. Os joney oggin to on 'rwee ereh ti kick do gnoig dan uo,t eavrhtwe ofrm ew mhuc ot ssa reew'. Tiatpen ,dink nrceuoent no yal,was be girngvfio dan ew hseto ew as awy of eht nad will. .
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Ovl,e.
We( go by )own ali ial.

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