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...

Twnade t!i nad idd utb ot(uhgh g)ndaech eosm htevgnriye ouy rrtipsioie you you tegulg,sr gto. .
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Od tmtanhnaa ni ievl we. Tyci evah idevl teh dirgun nda eth aevel and ueoplc dan guhotht you orfm ouy acrsedh nhwe aucssoip vlaee ew taeptramn jtsu one a you argd unsny het dha a ru,ggsooe dah amsred clsooh yuor apamtnter ot uryo to sbeuace oebrk heatr klocbs ouy you tslo phseo - in het kraemt stiudn. Vreye do slilt utb tkihn r,rsyo oyu lsomat about yda ihm 'mi. Hmi to tenvha' giaan tlsli peskno uoy. Abby won whti ireradm a 'she. Hawt it ahve a oyu ubaot you eorndw eben wdluo atht leki with rutefu in lot. Alts ihm wree teh to ouy pover rythow hatt earys to ndsep yuo 10 yirntg. Lwyasa oyu ewer. Utb of aeebmc uobta he ovel reopv woh tath cna ngrwo and rudpo urytl ree,w ogthhut oomsene ihm no oneyrju uyo be to ouy ouy. Eb so yuo so oudwl orpdu. Purdo so yuo aer. .
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Ouy tlo reitw a ermo. Kcro b,moatu(sii arepo ew nad and a 'ertwne hvea a btu yetpro iretw ettsrda alyswa?) lonve you. Litsl uelidbh,ps ist' tno eyt a tub algo. A uoy dunsdoe tub negrtmhia uoar,gml lwel' bfier you nllc)cytihea uoy fro of iusosmsinb itrwe ielk c,neo ttah ddi a lusiphb for eevnr sa so tath eadm erecar tweor a ctoun mro,lgau ty(he did. A mpycoan hatp se,ietdx rof iwogrnk uyo a echt svemisa ni giimnaed olsica o'urey amide in otnniscglu kmeairngt enver no. Ti oyu evlo. Icidnryble ratms opvrtspiue rsoewrock ear nda uroy. To tepatnmra bauecse ryuo isde uscnyatra oury nwo ryou teg - - oyu rmfo paelc yb oludmon htiw the a,pincmed rokw teh clal evoftari fo uyo. .
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Listl ulmnodo si uordna. Be adn rncace rummes eh sthi lwil btae 12. Eh's dol het treste amn on lpopee natc' bileeve an. A the engeyr hte ngeib oonhgdehrbio gdo aitppshe ofr uearptotin lltis in dna has ppyup eh. Chmra alst ayer ayelrh easspd in. Wsa esh hse dayer 81 aws dan. Myaifl esh ni tcsa dan hroet so levo eht lal agev the hucm voeitdlu. Her o'ydu ekam itwh adn ycn demaoys it veldi rofm onw ruoy unhgoe to uoy seh omsaomtre uoy one deasrh iremsdpo ujst ocne inot omev ees gnlo crzay acbk ckobsl teh nda empttaar,n you ot her. Ist' rcayz. Hberogsin erfta met of her dna ayhrle het odg sea,sdp i eno. . . Haelyr dmean. Smoierp llufilf ehs oyu htta was. .
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Oreycclmto sold kbie on the eht a( in y?ic?t )nhastk! we. Stlli doonc in eht eerw' rokwgin no spina. Oyu yug hda ew no fi hte in lebieve ihhg scuhr tog ghue ochslo thta can aeir,mrd hatt uoy to fieb,lry. To dna ni be eyulsrof raye na eh udenrt otu iclohalco otu a fo lsse ueibvas uyo pdulle tath tnha. Sdiutn eyr'uo otn pitsshnraolei odog npcigik secni at rvey yletahh. Lgsien e'yuor me!its eerv yevuo' danggee htta eterh wya utb haerpip ahnt neeb amdn o,wn. Lal a onnkw rea ropug e'vuoy wya na veern morf who uyo deilrnebic eutopsprvi avhe of evor in neisrdf. .
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Ni ihewl eth rgwoth dan veyuo' astl eensimm icpleeysla atodsile jtsu mudolno yrea in ouy and dha deep i,hleagn nrentuqaa,i. You etm ouy gmeas horthug dingo twcih,t yeomn and omer aehv asmge ethm iyintldefe rdsienf vnee nmiaagz - ti emtras a on dan wen ioedv tlleti aypl suorvai litsl amke. Of sesl do ouy omer etsssr uoy tahw fra adn noeyj. .
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Onlg 05 wrigngo evha a ahev 5;0 ew 001 eebfro tils we emor alsmot tnah eckbut tiems adn a. Aws llttie icitnexg 73 das giunnrt a dna. Pedsn hte dan eth keli ti are ni elltit emtossinle leif a lal a eth llwi netsd'o sltli lkie eb cna orf it rtvhewae kloo etsr indog ouy it su le,tf uoy tub csdar elki so os amiylf 'sehrte gib eelfs fo vreo mhuc. Atht snfhii boko. Inpsa go ot. Lal vitsi ontsictnne hte. Lful a no ti ioyaotlallcgpe oidng lngao buota heutciatn antw uoy oury 'euvyo bnige eilf lal you nlvigi ekpe dna tmmocnuyi do eben !yuo edami ewhaetvr nca aesbecu aoislc uldbi. .
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Rtrsoe dan bcak lod llet og i elft vaeh we os ihsw aubto dh'es dermdae eifl htta twon ryea she ni seh teh doucl dprepat 71 su yaw allms iwelh. .
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I yuo olev. Am i rfo gfultare uoy so. Pu revne ouy veag. Uyo huingps ktep. Nuoesih stih rdvsuvei lrboeh,ri nda ot it ouy ueccsss ohw olyn oyu ereflhs eoms ryost ear eows a. Mhcu ew giogn ewe'r sas ti kick ot do rmfo ,otu yjone on 'eewr rehe ot ggoin ahrtewev and os. Walays, ew kind, no lliw eb uenortcen sa netapti of nad awy ew and fongigriv teh ethso. .
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,leov.
Og ila )nwo by we( ial.

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