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...

Uyo awdtne utb iiitoerprs tgo did edgcnha) you (guhtho nviegthrey it! rs,leuggt oems and ouy. .
.
Do ew lvie ni ttanmahna. Dan gtohhtu het hpeos romf tdunis nda ramekt cioasspu lavee sjut cbesaeu you inrgdu eth ruggso,oe adgr lievd in htrae dah you dasemr olts tmnpaeatr ew - icty to uyo a lbkcos wnhe leaev the opcuel anttepmar noe nunys ot ouy rouy dna adh dscearh a rkeob rouy het hoolsc uyo eahv. Lislt ayd hmi tsaoml yrrso, uyo m'i tbu thikn od evrey atbuo. Ihm ngaia still to you kopens eav'tnh. A ardemir bbay nwo wtih hs'e. It thwi hatt a otl neorwd ebne wodul awht evha urtufe oabtu you ielk ni uyo. Eewr npsde hwyotr hte yuo ot poerv tyrnig mhi oyu yeasr hatt ot ltas 10. Lyasaw eerw you. Ogtuhth yruenoj acn vleo eh rtyul be of atht tbuoa ouy mih btu amebec dna emesono you no who erwe, yuo to oprud veorp nrogw. Eb ouwdl so os uyo pourd. Poudr ouy os rea. .
.
Riwte emro otl a uyo. Ew teoryp w?alay)s envol wneert' veah baiumitso(, adn sdarett a eraop rtiew a crko and utb uyo. Oalg tno 'sit ety eh,isbuldp a litls ubt. Llwe' islpuhb atth ouy os oncut efibr of ,aguorml uoy nddusoe did tyeh( clyha)intecl a wtire edam glumr,oa eortw a as a idd athngirme utb rfo like orf atht you bmisnssoiu craeer c,eno ervne. Cslonnuitg ni ,exedtis ni a pmancyo gitmranek sclaoi rof a hapt mseisav iaemd ouy egdnimia hcet 'ryeuo no vneer grkowin. Oyu elvo ti. Tsipevurop errkosocw iniebdrcyl rea adn uoyr trmsa. Eucabes gte lapce sdie - ouy nwo lcal tcansurya twih by oury anmptreat yoru nulodom of royu - to rokw uyo eht verifota eth romf aedp,imnc. .
.
Naodru ltsil si uodlnom. Siht eacrcn eh emmsru nda be illw abet 21. Ploepe se'h dlo het mna an on a'ctn eterts ieleveb. Hte god ihrndebogooh eht paphsiet a ppuyp sllti eh sha taoteinrpu in dan fro enbgi egyren. Reya lats erhaly rahmc aspesd in. Dyare wsa asw dna 81 esh hse. Het in hes and acst humc vole hte so lal flimya viuldtoe egva ethro. Sjut ot yoru make dromesip emvo yudo' adn naetp,atrm it gnol and onhgeu ese ouy her akbc eno ot dlvie hre uoy het uyo cny wno omyedsa rzacy fmor twhi noce saerhd hes moeraostm ntio blocsk. Zacyr i'ts. Ogd layehr of i pdses,a tem rhe nad esnhirogb noe afetr eht. . . Eyahrl deamn. Illlffu taht swa hse ouy oepsrmi. .
.
I?cty? sk)!nhta in we teh hte kebi on sldo a( ltymorcoce. The wnrogki asipn 'rwee isllt oncdo ni no. You veliebe uyg e,lirbyf curhs fi to hooscl we taht in on ghhi acn euhg emdirra, teh had got uoy atht. Dan ot folusrye lsse he yare taht out dllpeu tnha sbiuave fo na dnuert ni yuo ocolalcih a tou eb. Hathley tno godo ikcinpg isntud yevr aelntshirspio esnci 'yreuo ta. Geagden erouy' 'yuevo utb erpipah hatt mnda o,wn erve hnta wya emit!s hrete eneb ielnsg. Lal an wonnk woh ouy ey'vou ni oerv yaw uiertpospv have nrvee sfriden of era a clinribeed purog morf. .
.
Oditslea in ileceysalp raey epde ni aeanqiu,tnr doumnlo meimesn hda dna and eht 'vueyo uoy tsju owhtrg ael,ihgn iewlh salt. Aemstr vnee ekam ylap oyu a sllit rifends it rthohgu mhet iauvsor agizamn ,tithcw oyu on sagme and saemg tillte eavh met mnyeo dan nwe tfilediyen odnig edvoi - rome. Rfa of do essl meor oyu ouy ssrset dan tawh jeoyn. .
.
A itsl 100 nwggori berfoe and logn aevh htna ubckte we hvea a 05 oalsmt ew 5;0 erom eistm. And swa tlleti 73 dsa a uingtrn cixgtein. You efsel wlil us aer but a sdrca like weevhart eb a vero olko teh indgo of so het dsepn it tsee'hr fro uoy keli lkie igb litls nac ilomsntese lal flie lyimfa rest in so le,tf onts'de hcum it the tilelt nad it. Nfhiis kboo thta. Og ot sniap. Vtiis ennincttso all eth. Aoscli uoy aeimd egbin ti llaayoicgtolep all ilingv can ogidn want ifle iubdl a eneb cebsuae on oimcnuytm rouy do adn galno aubot uo!y you vu'yeo ethiacunt lufl wtevaher epek. .
.
Ownt awy felt hes dsh'e go lalsm the lelt hiws rrseto su in ppdeatr 17 lfie nad ttha os eayr wlieh ew veha ehs aoubt i derdame dlouc ackb odl. .
.
I evlo you. Os rof you ma i grfutale. Geav up yuo veern. Uyo sphinug ktep. Soew onihesu ruisvdev uscsecs ,erohrbil efeslhr ouy omes ohw a ot it uyo ylon era troys tsih and. Os mrfo adn umhc do eeahwtrv ickk 'erew igogn igogn erhe ass ot t,ou we noeyj 'erew no ti ot. Awy fo hoset be and ew rcuetonne i,dnk ifgoigvrn eht tapinte we sa nda al,ayws on wlil. .
.
Ov,le.
W(e ila ail )onw go by.

This user has written an update to this letter.To see what they wrote, please

Press ← and → on your keyboard to move between letters

Write new comment

Load more comments