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...

Utb dnhag)ce uhhot(g etandw idd tog etiioirrps yuo semo !ti yuo adn you turg,gles gntreviyeh. .
.
We anhtmnaat in od elvi. Drag yuo nsitud aprantemt oeclpu bkroe srouge,go eathr haev in vaeel ew kbsclo hwen - you het a kmraet nynus ocsohl idlev adn pseho lsto ot guhthto the ryuo dha uoy one seeucab stju ctiy ouy you adn artpmeant het from eht oryu rnidgu a aleve rscdeah sermda sauipsoc ot hda nad. Ktnih ryvee obtau stlmao m'i you day tlils od utb hmi ryors,. Etnvh'a ot gnaai ltlis oyu eposnk him. Iermard with won byab hse' a. Ielk a twhi ewdron yuo ni ti htta athw lduwo lto oyu have bnee uftreu abtou. Alst 01 het weer ot uoy yohwrt imh ouy arsye ndeps ot yngrti htat evopr. Erwe aaywsl yuo. Taht ongrw guhttoh ubt buota ceabem him be orudp vpreo on he ouy and osoneem anc w,ere woh ovle luytr uyjenro to oyu ouy of. Eb pudro os odwlu os ouy. Uoy uodrp ear so. .
.
Otl uoy moer a reitw. Nwee'tr haev trsaedt adn ?yawals) vnleo ierwt and tub ia,si(bmuot rock a ew earop yuo rypteo a. Tno pushlbi,de a ti's llist yet gola utb. Ttah eamhgtinr a nceo, idd os (ehty ubt lhpsiub a oiinusssbm teiwr fo rfo tath yuo you l'ewl otrew adme ugraom,l uyo errcae a rgamul,o for noctu idd neerv ilek as rfeib unoddse c)llacyetnih. Ni isexetd, rof losica ouy eimigdan nguosctlni a amied saemsvi ntkaegmri ahtp anypcom ni on neerv tech wgrikon a eruy'o. Olve yuo ti. Poitvruesp nda yruo ratms oeosrwcrk rlbyicendi ear. To fomr teg uyo e,ncdmiap of ides royu - ryuo olumodn lecpa uebaces rvfioeta uoy - eparmttna thiw orwk by eht nwo het acll nsraatyuc uryo. .
.
Is luomond ltsil adonru. Eacncr uresmm dna htsi eb tabe eh iwll 12. Eolepp ebeeilv teesrt eth man on odl nta'c na 'hes. Eh orf iebgn geyern dna hte siepphta ilslt euotntaipr ni eth ash a ppuyp nbdrioohegoh god. Pesasd rhmac slta ni aelryh eary. Saw nda ryeda she hse 81 saw. Eth tasc aveg lal falymi dan leov hse in umhc htore eth iedotlvu so. Eomv ocne noti nghuoe ot ees utsj ync rhe ymasoed nwo olgn her you bkac to oen ithw hasrde ivlde emka adn mofr yarzc teh hse traemmsoo opirmdes ti uoy tepr,amnta koblcs ryou adn oy'ud uoy. Tis' rzyca. Erylha i a,dssep reh hosirengb ratfe oen nad fo emt ogd eth. . . Ryelah amnde. Hes aws ouy roisemp atth illuffl. .
.
Teh on dsol a( !hnskta) kbie the cy?i?t croloyecmt ni ew. No het tisll 'rwee sipna doonc ni orgwikn. Uhge dha you ni eeeblvi eth nac ryl,iebf ot we usrch rim,rdea schloo ihgh yug ttha tgo oyu no fi atht. Otu of nrdtue ttah otu to uyeosrlf a olhccliao an eb tahn and usvaieb eyra pleuld he lses you ni. Hyhatel 'eryou tuidns sienc gdoo nto lnriosasethpi yrve kgpnici ta. Way eerth dnma tub tanh e'uory eeadggn sngile own, htta eneb vu'eoy t!eims hrapeip erev. Who puorg v'euyo oyu of an veor rdinfse erven way rae ieortpsvup mrof wonkn edlinericb all in a ehva. .
.
Dah eray and 'veuyo and lihew aurne,ntqai hanlgi,e ohrgtw ni leyeiscpal tsal tsuj edep mmseien elasoidt yuo omondlu het ni. Dserifn ouy mreo and dna igazamn vusiaro meka ynildfeiet - ehav rastme ,chtiwt sllit ltietl oidgn a mesag meags on hmet enw tuhohrg yapl tme it mneoy neev ouy dvieo. Fo whta and orem raf oyu do ssster ssle oyu yjneo. .
.
We btucek tmosla we veha a a eahv nda nlog eoerbf athn 010 05 mtsie ilts 5;0 gwirogn oemr. 37 ltlite nrtigun tignxcei a asw adn sda. Ti fo hmcu yuo evor tdos'ne can ehr'tes fte,l ti lkei so dongi a aeevtwhr us yuo itelesnosm tbu eelsf elfi be rfo tltiel rea lla so ibg mfliya estr ookl nad eth psend sllit the a ti the in ilke lliw sdcra klie. Boko ihinfs ttha. To og sianp. Istvi hte lla ntnciostne. Wnta you a nigeb lal aglon ubidl oeipyllgcaltao ongid gviinl ulfl ewhvtrea nbee ueecsab ilef emdai kepe oy!u you ti do aubot eo'yuv miounmtyc cna lcsaoi nda on uyro uteihtnca. .
.
Kacb eramded ltle ahtt og lsaml flei ouabt in 71 ehs adn helwi oucld padpret e'dsh so wotn veah ew ywa fetl she i ryea hiws etrsro teh dlo su. .
.
I yuo ovel. Uyo i os lftaerug fro am. Nevre pu vaeg you. Eptk yuo phgunis. Uyo it ouy csescus onyl dan tosry uvivsred rae ohienus oesw ot a sith smoe i,hrelbro hwo rheefsl. Morf wree' cmuh ew'er nojye no cikk to ti we sas to t,uo so oggni heer od oigng veathwre and. Yaaws,l thseo fo oeerutncn teaintp hte on iknd, dan adn iwll eb sa gfgivonir we awy ew. .
.
Oel,v.
By ila lai wn)o we( og.