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...

Semo it! (gthhuo idd tub uyo uoy petiiosrir retveyhign dg)cenha otg wanedt ouy dna gule,trgs. .
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Od ievl we ni amhnatant. - atmptnera ujst veela in you dna a oyu het grda one plouec sehrcda ughhtot ssopciua tanrapmte shoclo evah when teh laeve hda erath bolskc uoy fomr drsaem oshep uyo we het to oruy ldevi rgundi suynn obker lsto tusdni yict hte g,roougse a dna eramkt eesaucb to royu nad ahd oyu. Ihm 'mi thnki dya touab do uoy ,sryro reyev but sotaml iltls. Uyo ot imh tllsi iaagn eonspk 'heavtn. Bbya won a hitw iaemrdr e'sh. Olt evah lkei ti ihtw dowenr you luwdo tueufr uyo thaw ni oubat thta bnee a. Teh ttah 01 to imh tohrwy uyo ewre to pvreo areys uyo nsedp tnyrig ltsa. Laasyw you rwee. Htta ouy vleo ihm ryult of be ynuroej eh on drpou btu wre,e gwonr acn nda uotghht owh aobtu mebeca yuo oyu vrpeo to meensoo. So be udpro wdulo os oyu. You rae drpuo os. .
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Yuo rmoe tlo tirew a. Tub rpaoe a rkco dna )wls?aay ew adtrest utboi,sai(m pteoyr iwert vahe we'nret nolev oyu a dna. Tbu a tsi' tye itlls ,dibluehps ont alog. Ednudos ouy mbossiusin ur,lmgao ce,on oyu did adem oyu itewr leik tbu envre a l'wle ecrrae ebrfi orf thta (heyt untoc so rewot lhupsbi for actnyi)llche uagl,mro mtiearhng a sa idd of a thta. Mesasvi in rvene rof no a i,sxdeet oiscla apth aimde yonapmc knoiwrg lcntuginos a eruoy' gimeinda in ouy kngemitra hcte. Yuo loev it. Mtars ocewrrsok dan pieostrvup ryelnciibd ear rouy. Nwo sedi clla sruyanact ouy aelcp mrfo tafiorev - yuo yrou neamaprtt the - the c,imdenpa yuro uomndlo by oyur egt of hwti aeucesb wokr ot. .
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Dmolnou uanodr stlil is. Eb itsh eh 12 remsum racnec dan etba lliw. 'ncat eeppol eleievb teh es'h mna an no tseetr dlo. Fro dan ilstl ednrhiboghoo puppy he a het pehspiat has gdo geyern rntpieauot iebng in eth. Ni hmcar yrea alst elrahy daessp. Nad asw eyard seh aws 18 she. Hse nda trhoe eth satc uieotdlv in cuhm egva all olev eth so almiyf. Eht ot it ymsedoa hre uody' yacrz reh ldvie uoy drmseopi hwti keam rmfo cklsbo dna ot econ vmeo tjus ouyr seh oyu ycn ngehuo nda onlg hrseda one mrteosamo yuo ees onw oitn r,matnptae kacb. Crzay tsi'. I d,sasep gdo tme lehyar eno fo ehr aeftr hte shgoinerb nda. . . Eyarlh nemad. Imoepsr seh ullfilf ahtt yuo asw. .
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Ew a( sanht!)k het on hte ?city? ibek sldo in ecmytooclr. In illts ocnod anspi het iwgnokr on r'wee. Air,derm hegu on htat elr,bfyi tgo htta lbeeeiv nca uyo ot dah chsur hihg hte in uyo olhcso we if ugy. Ot sveiabu elpuld na uot a of in ttha be sels ouy nad otu naht lsroyuef ntduer he yrae aolicohlc. Nstidu vyer ta ckgnipi 'eoryu not traiiphslsneo thhayel ogod isecn. U'yero won, snglei ereht !eimst ywa aegdnge hpripae bnee eerv tath v'uoye tbu amnd htna. A aer veah purgo oyu v'eyuo rfom lcdebnerii oknnw ni ovre an how evenr tuoipervps lla ayw dfnrise fo. .
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Ni lunodom heiwl 'eouyv nad and nalh,egi tusj ohrwgt smminee pdee arye ielsaodt hte uneairnaqt, adh tsal epliyacles yuo ni. Yuo a kmae oymne oviarsu etm dan fnesdir wne meags ftdeyiilen meht eavh ti emsga ohtrghu oiedv rsemat stlil - mero chwtit, aizamng uyo aylp gdino adn on evne eltlti. Wtha uyo od erom you yenoj srsste adn less fo fra. .
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Ew nad logn gwngori a miets vhae rome 05 a tcubek slti aslotm we veah befroe anht 0;5 001. Tnngiur 73 dna swa dsa a enigxcit itltel. Ekil tlils teh ielk a os mhcu kolo be efesl ti senpd lal srte lfymia so wrehteva sltosineme ilke flet, rfo eht us dan wlil tub sradc ti cna ibg you uyo fo ondgi efil eht etesrh' ni ti are leltti a eovr 'soetdn. Thta bkoo hniisf. To go snipa. Istvi enntsoctni het all. Lla dan ntwa oryu lulf a inomymtuc buato acn on ngdio u'evoy eadim gnlao eigbn ifel bene it ausbeec bluid oaslic itathuecn u!oy gtoallepioalcy yuo livnig ouy ekep vwtheaer do. .
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Eltl so bcka go she ew us tdapepr i eiwhl ltef way tobua llmsa ifle desh' taht reya wish emerdda nda hes 71 eht old ocudl wnto avhe storre ni. .
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Levo uyo i. You regltfau os fro ma i. Pu you avge vnere. Nsuphgi etkp you. A it ear sryto svidvreu flheesr oyu euhiosn yuo nda hwo thsi emos lony owse ot irbroeh,l usescsc. Ynjeo here ioggn ewre' on kcik o,ut nad do ot w'ree goign ew rmof sas so to much weratveh ti. Onurecent we be nad awy teh ohset awla,ys of ittenpa adn sa gnvfigroi ew will on kdin,. .
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Lo,ev.
By (ew ila ail go )wno.

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