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...

Yuo yirnghveet meos soipiiterr toh(ghu canhg)de ddi oyu tog btu srtg,gleu you adn ti! wtaden. .
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In ivle od amathnnat we. You oury atarepmtn wneh ujst euacebs ytic in sutdni the eoshp trahe eht mkerat iugndr you tmtnpraea snuny gegsroo,u ouy edrchas dmesra dilev a agdr scholo oyu nda uyor fmro nda dan oyu the uaiopscs vleea tsol noe to ew eolpuc the ot sckblo a hgutoth dah ekorb valee eahv - hda. Yuo od yvree o,sryr itlsl tbu ayd m'i bouta ihm amoslt htkin. Him npokes ganai lislt then'av ot uyo. Wno ithw a 'she ybba iademrr. Ni uoy thta tlo tabuo odwul a tawh thiw nbee wodenr erutuf klei evah uoy it. Pndse mih ot nrytig ot uyo tlsa htta uoy eysra ewre revop 10 the whotyr. Yaaslw ouy were. Hatt anc ohw utb grnow ot fo eh poerv on nad atbuo ,erew uyo you dpruo eb vleo embeca noeosem rutyl ogtuthh ihm nuoeryj you. So rodup ldouw eb os you. Era so opudr uyo. .
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Rome ewitr olt uyo a. Nad orpae and utb a entw're ovlen trewi oretyp a redastt veah )?wyaals okrc toiaumb,(is ew ouy. Bpd,lesiuh 'ist tub tey glao tisll ont a. Rgimtnahe a shubpil amed ouy bierf yuo sa l,garumo ubt os rof ich)yaltlenc worte idd a ofr nvere idd rlum,aog fo iumsonbiss atth wl'el they( rewit ,coen tath nutco ikel a you earcre uodsedn. No onlgsutcni dienmgia imeakgrtn veenr d,exsiet ehtc iveamss ocyapmn ni a ahtp knroiwg in ofr emadi you a lciosa yorue'. It uoy leov. Era psirvutepo oswkceorr trsam yuro and nbiyiceldr. Het korw fo fiotrvae onw acll arsyncuta mooduln ot yb laecp cueebas uroy eht - dise cp,dianem rmfo etg thiw oyu - anettpmra oyu ouyr ryuo. .
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Ondaru ltsli nmloodu si. Baet eb he nda 21 ncecra liwl mmuesr hsit. An srttee 'ehs mna het nt'ca pleeop on bvieeel old. Nghrbohodioe ygrnee nad einbg ahs uteapnroti in esipphat a eht rof iltsl ppypu he odg eth. Yaehlr sapsde ni mrach tsal eyar. 81 aws dan ayerd she seh swa. Hes all evlo the adn mhcu acts veluotdi avge mliyaf ni the rteho os. Noce eon ees yuo oruy ycn akme nad vldei egnhuo whti itno eomv ti nad erh to tpanmatr,e oseimrpd sdemoay czayr mofr sjtu ehs raehds yu'do uyo won nglo kbac rhe ouy ot osbckl the osrmmoate. Rczay 'sit. Of rhelay sda,pes rtfae mte oen rhe i gdo nad eth iosrhngeb. . . Rheyal nmaed. Esh htat yuo lfflilu asw somrepi. .
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Ni we ebki the h!nksa)t loemytorcc dlso no a( the tc?i?y. No hte okwgnir conod wree' in lsitl naisp. Ogt l,yebrif idrme,ar hhig eht ni eeelbvi hsoolc can ahtt huge dha oyu gyu no shcru to uoy fi we thta. Less ni out fo euyforsl raye a caoioclhl vaisbue ntha rnuedt eb otu ouy an adn he delulp ttah to. Tsndiu oodg triaienplssho at yerv lateyhh 'euyro giicknp ceins otn. Tmise! iephrap veer heert 'eyuor slgien now, ahtt nebe geandeg 'yuoev ywa ubt ntha danm. Ogupr how roev era neevr biclreneid rsfeind lla romf fo ahve yaw 'voyeu uoy nknwo an in a ppoturievs. .
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Yuo hwgrot emnimse ni and e,tanraquin eyra eouvy' slat glhae,in adsileto teh wihle edep dah nuodlom tusj dan iyllspaece ni. Pyal more eevn a stmrae tem no yonme wne nad - ndogi uoy hvea tsill zgianma geasm ineldeftiy dan titw,hc ti mthe ndfisre ruhhotg ouy akem mesga oived tltlei vairosu. You arf yuo mroe of and twha jyeon esstrs esls od. .
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05 a gnlo we 010 eimts tlsi roem ferboe hvae ogrwgni toalsm ew ckbteu a 50; evah tnah dan. Itiencxg wsa a nda nutnigr ileltt ads 73. Klie kile ikel tlfe, kloo esthre' btu oidng ti orf su it of ti eth slmesineto flees aer iltsl scard os a will ltleti so anc you gib lla and vewaehtr yfimal elfi eb orve snped in eht a het tne'sod uoy esrt uhcm. Book nhfiis tath. Og to apnis. Ncotsnniet teh tisvi lla. Yuo lluf natw bdiul mdaie losica efli uoy !you nbee kpee do ibnge it aobut eavterwh uy'ove ndigo nda iatetnuhc lla anlog toimmyncu bcesuea a on ytacoeliplolag uoyr nac vnilgi. .
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Dpprtae so ni lelt i orstre amlls atht telf dreemda the aobut wotn veha ywa lweih ehs odluc odl eilf nad og hse we swhi 71 reay us 'desh cabk. .
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I uyo olev. Orf am uyo so i tflegaru. Enrev evga pu uyo. Pusnghi ketp uoy. Msoe leesfhr onyl who uoy rbro,hile rviuevsd eswo era eucsscs ti sith ot uoy dan nheisou a stryo. Cmhu ssa to noigg so ingog kcik we ot oynje erhe w'ree omfr eew'r to,u nad do on vheertaw it. Ew ,iknd hoest rtoecenun no the ifrginogv a,lsyaw ayw as nda we eb epttani of nad wlil. .
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Oelv,.
Ew( ali by go ali )won.

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