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...

Eheinrvgyt ipoireitrs gs,rtelgu ouy !it tog h(gothu ddi atdnew smoe uoy gd)aechn nda oyu ubt. .
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Do we aahtmtann in eivl. Aeusbce yuo ehspo we eon nnysu adn jsut nmaprteta atanprmte yict tlos adh hte teh have kearmt plucoe uroy a nhwe ntiuds ouy cosklb - dna uoy ni frmo you het dsercha leeva gg,usrooe dah ldiev tothuhg rtahe oyu aveel nda susiaocp teh radg to sohclo ot rekbo aremds rgndiu uyor a. Rsro,y oyu asmtlo od mih dya knhit itlsl tub 'im vreey oubat. Iagan him knseop tilsl ntv'aeh uoy to. Bayb a eh's onw rdeimra htwi. Batou uoy turufe in you a ti lto iwth wlduo ehva orednw thta twha eilk nbee. Ttha teh erew 01 grnyit vepro yuo to satl tohwry earys you mhi to sndpe. Oyu weer aalwsy. Be ttah ubota ghohutt him rvpoe uoy cna oueyrnj to owh rdopu lvoe ewr,e on uyo maebce tbu eh you ongrw tuylr fo mnsoeoe nda. Urpod so os wlodu uoy be. Opudr uyo so ear. .
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Rome olt treiw ouy a. We'netr a a oerpa adn ckor but ew petyro ietrw tadrtse dan ovnle ma,tsb(uoii ouy vahe ?ylsaaw). Ltisl lgoa tye a tis' ephisld,bu utb ont. Ulipbhs rwite ouy veern ofr ttha tocun ttha mlag,uor sa ubt eearcr frbie uyo snosuimbis os a for deunsod tycchlenl)ai oyu lkei of idd we'll lu,raogm retwo ec,no a idd ghmaiertn maed a hy(et. Nmyaopc no ni ernve s,dxetei a for a uoy seavism wkgniro mirnaegtk in lngntcuiso tceh nmdaigei 'eouyr amdie aosilc paht. Veol yuo ti. Dna bdycnirlie aer roowceksr uoyr mtras tpspvouire. To rmof teh onmldou het ruoy beascue kowr get aclpe twhi fo by ucanstray oyu uoy ruoy acll cn,aipmed aenmtrpat ised rfvateio now ouyr - -. .
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Nduora itsll is ounlmod. Srmemu be 21 and lwil he nccare tbae ihst. 'hse an ldo on bleevie nma oeplep nta'c eht teetrs. Nbige for he god upypp ni yneger a tills het tuontapeir sha hstpipea dna the dorehingoboh. In hamrc ryea lehrya tsla epassd. Wsa nda esh wsa 81 edyar ehs. Liyfma hes nad tedoluvi leov so het evag lal cats muhc het ni thoer. Zrcya ti onlg and oyd'u stju kcolbs uoy onec her deaysmo uoy twhi poirmeds ckab eht rmof eoghnu to dvlei uyo own asherd reotomasm adn ouyr seh see emov ot hre tino eno eakm tpteaa,rmn ncy. Zarcy it's. God gehobnisr i met ehr fo ylhrea etafr hte neo adn ,aedsps. . . Amnde aeyhlr. Ttha ullffil hse piemsro oyu asw. .
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We omyocecrlt eht bkie ni osdl hte on a( yic??t sthk!n)a. Ooncd listl ni the ikngrwo on psnai 'weer. You yug fi ni loohcs uhsrc no htat hhig uehg ivbelee r,eimdra we to hda teh ahtt uyo got fiy,rbel acn. An ni a llepdu of adn erndtu rfeosylu tuo elss to ouy he htat otu reya tanh be haclolioc ibasuve. Nlshteroaspii ta yrev snduit uo'rye ngpkiic hehltya ton sncei doog. Hatn awy oy'eur veuoy' ggedane taht adnm ilgsne eebn vree now, ubt trhee aeprhip !tsmei. Vye'uo erndiilbec rmfo rguop a otepisvrpu an wonkn rae ouy yaw of ni all vhae enver who difrens revo. .
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Teh utjs had ,nhlaieg whiel hrtogw luodomn v'euoy edpe aepelycsil ni ensimme oisateld lsta nad in reya uyo qunn,riatea nda. Wne nigdo evne dieov evah avuorsi emka paly yonem tem iznagma rugtohh it nad - hwtti,c eomr aemrst gsaem nad no a you tmhe oyu asgme tlsil fniedrs tlidyiefen etllit. Waht oyu ouy yjneo sstser lsse nda od oerm raf of. .
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Uectkb we a nad we 05 eomr ehva lnog tmsie tnah amotls rofbee 50; a 100 ggniwor istl haev. A saw tegicxni illtet igtnrnu dan 73 dsa. Rtavhewe lelitt ouy but ear a a lseef us all os rdcas teh ne'sotd be orev fo it ti reh'est hmuc nca the lkoo itlsl dnpse like oingd eilf l,fte like orf nad ti lomeetssni yafiml tser het os klie you in lilw ibg. Book fnihsi ttah. Go pinas to. Lal tsivi teincsnnot eht. Nad od uyo eepk lagno lufl yuro lpolligeaatcoy a on tehnacuit acn eebn odgni herwtvea fiel uoey'v sucbeae nawt umtocyimn iiglvn yuo! it uoy iacols oatbu lal bgnei adeim dlbui. .
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Adn ni old ehs salml ywa og ttah hes teh os wotn 71 tboau i akbc loudc ew hwsi felt dtraepp lfei eliwh d'ehs us eary rerost veah tlel emrdade. .
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I voel yuo. Am i you gtafelru so for. Pu egav yuo erenv. Epkt uhsnpig yuo. Hrri,belo seow only to reshfel heuosin a seusscc nda uoy it dervsviu moes hwo are tosyr uoy ihst. Nejyo ereh kkci inogg rfom nad to we ngiog whevater no os wr'ee u,ot chum it ewe'r ssa ot do. Eb nofgrigvi htsoe we dn,ik way retnuecon nda ew eht illw as and of ,slwaay intepta on. .
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L,eov.
N)wo ail e(w yb go ial.