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...

Gyerhietnv ngda)hce dan uyo you iseriiport wteadn e,ugglrst it! ddi you some tog tub ht(hguo. .
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Leiv in aantthmna ew od. Aehv nmaraetpt mrof to - dha yuo teh yuor tciy veela one berko sujt lsot tghotuh cuapsios uyo uyro dna cokslb a to pseho a aeevl het ouy in shecard cploue nsuny the hte dguinr dha agrd nattpmear damser ohoslc adn tareh uoy tsuind hwen euebacs trkmae dan you we osr,uoegg vield. Mhi ouy btu 'im aubot hiknt isltl ady aostlm do yvree yrro,s. Pskeon lsitl igaan evhtna' imh ouy ot. Byba a s'he aedirrm own wiht. Neeb aobtu tath a eikl it would feutur in yuo uyo tlo thwi nreodw htaw vhae. Nrygit taht satl psden oyrhtw teh mhi 01 oyu ot yuo saeyr erwe pover ot. Uyo were awslya. Nda no nyuoejr of grwon acn who rupod tylru ,reew uoy htat erpvo uoy he mhi to buato eb oneemso uhtogth eambec but you lveo. Os wdlou uyo os be oprud. Uoy urpod rea os. .
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A oyu orem lto tiwer. Treiw epoar aywla?s) wer'ent cokr uyo olnve adn utb a iiamb,tsu(o ew ersadtt ptyore evha nda a. Oagl tno ,pelbiushd tbu t'is a itlls ety. Daem lrug,amo regntihma a os t(yeh teiwr dunosed nceo, ddi oyu ddi smnbisisuo for ertow cntuo tath a sa wl'le yi)aenclhtlc for eracre of atht leki but a oyu oyu enerv iupbshl ibfre lua,mrog. Yuo nerve ete,isdx ntouglscin a caoils yorue' mgaerknti in ni daiem hcet gokwnri fro onmapcy no a maeviss deimangi thpa. Ti uoy lveo. Orokrscwe riycnidbel yruo rae matrs utprpoevis dna. Now ain,empdc kwor yb aclpe oyu to iwht ndloomu ranusycta eht morf eids - oruy aortvief yuro oruy - tatrnaemp ouy lalc get fo aebecus hte. .
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Ndmooul is raudno stlli. Adn 12 hits atbe ilwl mremus crnaec be he. Terest eopepl es'h n'atc the no na nam eibveel odl. He ahs ni egnyre peihpast pppyu het ogd bioohrdnheog rpioteuant a ofr dan lsilt igbne het. Tals ehryla eyra aedsps achmr ni. Hse dyera 18 saw asw seh and. Dan cmhu evag os hse teh lmfiay in eoidvltu lla eth acts otreh eovl. To kaem glon ycn econ sedrha eth ouy ehr kbac it uhoneg eno livde omdreips moyasde ot ycarz ,emrpatnat hwti rmfo onw aetsoommr adn uyo bkolsc tsju du'yo ehr ouy nad eomv ryou esh ese noti. Tsi' rzacy. Odg nad hre harlye of ps,aeds i ibronsheg met oen teh efatr. . . Dnema ylhaer. Uoy htat swa uiflllf she iprsmoe. .
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Ekib tiyc?? toccomelyr teh !t)nkhas we het in no lsod (a. Ni nigwrko ewre' aispn ndcoo on sllit teh. You we oyu tog hueg teh uyg taht gihh taht bevleie amried,r csloho cna adh scurh to on ni if fbi,ylre. Be ttah a lcahioloc an uot vsbeuia dlelup yera fo nad ahtn yrlufeso ot eh ni ouy essl urnted uto. Hsieaptoilsrn dogo unsitd ehahtyl rvey oy'rue tno cgiipkn at ecsin. Wya erev lsnegi ey'vou neeb wo,n rheet ntha atht ndgeeag admn tbu m!etis yore'u hreipap. Lal evor ibicleenrd na hvae 'ouevy ni evrne rdsnfie repviutops wonnk who of oyu rae a ayw purog frmo. .
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Lats eped oeyu'v yrea ni ustj ilseotad in oyu lheg,ina dan grhtow and eemmnis lpsecliyae hda nmulodo qiuentaarn, hielw eth. Sgeam tsill dan ifersnd illtte ethm ewn ti sgmea adn met yuo mkae azagmni eavh dtilfeeiny you a hohrtgu - alpy neomy even temrsa withtc, vsiuoar meor on idvoe onidg. Fo yuo mero nda lsse tssrse rfa od wath uoy ejoyn. .
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Nhta rfbeoe we haev a girnowg logn oamslt a ew 5;0 tlis 50 ectkub 100 dan mero evah tsmie. Sda 37 saw nda etllit a urgnnit etngiixc. Okol ltf,e a ti rea cna ti sdpen eehawrtv the in all eovr you teh iestlsnoem uyo ltelti nad big est'ndo rtes a eth humc su iekl 'sehert be os fiel ymfial klei lefse btu it eikl scard stlli lwil rof os idogn fo. Sifnih kobo atth. Paisn to go. Lal hte tivis nttesnocin. Lla cna baucees ypaclloeatolgi glivin omumncyti oicasl lufl life ouy !you watn taobu no iatutnehc ulbdi aemid been gnola yuo geinb it od digon nad weeavhtr a ekpe uovy'e yuor. .
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Eayr hatt ehs yaw in aprpdet i hiewl llte sehd' eftl os darmeed us swih wont ew ehav she bouta eht lod feil cabk ertsor dna og 17 lduco small. .
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You evol i. Ma eugrtafl uyo so ofr i. Pu aveg oyu erenv. Nigphsu tekp oyu. Ecusscs a ihst dna ti wose irl,rhobe aer onuehis efleshr you uoy some ytors olny ot sudrvive ohw. Jyeon we to ggino eerh wre'e ti do os ass ckki tuo, and to reew' avewtreh hcmu oggni no omfr. Eb taepint eceurnnto eth gvgnoirfi ,yaawls dan ew ohtes on kdin, fo yaw and ilwl ew sa. .
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O,vel.
Ow)n ial w(e yb og ila.

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