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...

(thhgou you lr,uggtse ddi eoms tbu ti! )daehgcn tgveihryne dnweat yuo uoy otg dan prseiortii. .
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Nmtnataah ew ni vile od. Berok ewnh ahd had sedarm hopse oyu morf ujts ew a seecbua eht to dna bksclo hthugot nsynu to ealev tamtpnrae clohos martnaetp dan icyt yuo eon ossauicp adn ouy ltos uyo ryou ruyo a het raketm tnisdu hrate seacdrh eht - iveld aevh het ni esooug,rg riugdn gadr eulopc veale yuo. Im' lltis day ysr,or od tbu imh mtalso tnhki eevyr aubto yuo. Lslti him ht'nave niaga you ot pseokn. A byba radrmie ithw won e'hs. Ilek it dwolu whta euutfr thta edwonr you thwi eebn auobt uyo in evah a lot. 01 uoy thyrow were het yignrt ot ouy astl pndes thta oepvr esary ihm ot. Uyo lasywa eerw. E,ewr acn utb oevl mnseooe uyo and dprou uyo oatbu htutgho no taht to be rtuyl ognwr of cbamee how he eovrp hmi uyo nrujyeo. Eb uoldw so rpuod uyo os. Rea you puodr os. .
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Yuo otl werti a remo. Swaya?l) and nleov etastdr ew a enre'tw tbu a oearp aehv dan isa(tumb,oi irwet uoy kcro reyopt. Ton llist tey ubt psdbhulei, 'ist laog a. A os euoddsn rfo idd mugarl,o oyu fo eadm m,uolgar a yuo orf irtwe thta crreea cltyenlic)ha rifeb as eikl did hbuslpi but ehty( ttah a rowet ,cnoe agiehnrtm ncuot reven wel'l oyu iimsosbuns. Rfo in ni a a nagieimd knirgwo meivsas rvene ouningctls paht ethc yu'ero oyu aoclsi on midae nypaomc naekmtrig te,eixsd. Uoy oelv ti. Dan vsrptoeupi eorwsokrc atsrm ydrnliiebc rea yuor. Ofrm seubaec rkwo llac ecpal uyro aapntemtr pedc,mnia uyor - ouy atrysncau now sied wiht eht yb of to etg yuo uroy triofvea - oldunmo the. .
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Omonudl nduora lltsi is. Lwli erncac be 21 dan etba eurmms eh shit. Tcna' hte lod h'es pleoep liveeeb nma on tester na. Iutpoenrat gibne siltl in dna teh hsa upppy eh enhogridbooh eeynrg ofr a hsaietpp eht odg. Ltsa in cahmr ylhrea epssda ayer. Saw 81 hes esh dan aws dyaer. Rehot aegv otludive fiymla so csat teh eth ovel lal esh cmhu ni adn. To emvo oecn erh nad mtmsooera kcba one ekma hse omedyas skobcl uoy ot aeamprtnt, ees ospmdire het ouy o'ydu acryz ti hugeno wthi lgno cny onti wno omfr uyo and dievl royu ahsdre reh ujst. Is't czayr. Edps,sa raeylh mte earft ehr fo rbgishneo eno hte gdo i dna. . . Aemnd realhy. Uyo orimsep uflflli was hes htta. .
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Ibek eth on in ?tyc?i dslo !ah)ktsn teh ew a( otleyomcrc. Donco wikgron 'rewe litls het ni on iaspn. Ew hatt if high e,mradri no uhge dha ugy eht lshcoo lveebei cna ot tgo riybe,fl you uoy sucrh atth ni. To dna ayer cohclialo naht eb dneurt otu eosurlyf yuo a uot ueldlp ssle eh of ttah ivauseb an in. Ont lhethay seinc rue'oy yevr at sentlrohisiap snditu doog gnkiicp. Mdan eebn tub isetm! awy r'oyue evre ,own eglsni tanh youv'e ahtt ripeaph gengeda etrhe. How erdisnf romf of veren rae a erov lla yaw hvae prugo an pitpseouvr known ni uyo nrlebdiiec vu'yoe. .
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Thworg whlei ycpeiellas uyo dha 'veoyu dna nsmeemi stju dumooln ni arey teh dna neqnart,aui aesotidl eepd in e,alghni tsal. Ielteinyfd oemr - emnoy lsilt htiwc,t yuo a smage htrohgu leittl new no enev plya irdfnes rviouas viedo emrsta yuo easgm zanmaig dna mte hvea mkae adn inodg temh it. Dna ouy onyej fo esls sterss arf uyo do twha ermo. .
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05 100 aveh a a ;05 kebutc we we long items lotsam ngirgwo orme ilts atnh haev feoebr dan. Swa ltilte asd ntnugri 73 igcnietx dan a. Enemlsiots utb slilt etsr it ikel ti fo rtaevewh a chmu eht fro het godni ervo dcars be lkei nda 'stheer eth tlltei era acn uoy ikel os os ed'snto ti you all in ibg us a sdenp llwi okol elfse lmyfia e,ltf life. Bkoo ttha ihifsn. Go to iasnp. Lal sivit the tncnotnsie. Wtna naolg eebn it ekep igvnli uoy lyoalgocpilate 'vuyeo giodn lflu lcsoia iludb secbuae yrou a bigne nca ittnhacue ubtao you u!oy and no umictyomn do elfi all daime evweathr. .
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Su aerdemd masll ehs lod aehv og ltel wshi in hes e'shd coldu i wya toabu 71 het tresro epprdta os notw kbac atht eyar we hilew nda eltf eifl. .
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Uyo i vole. Lragtefu so am i rof you. Evenr up you gvae. Uyo ihsngup tpke. A sussecc esmo ot dan ohw uoy srveidvu isth are hoeisun efhlers wseo ouy irbrh,loe srtoy ti noyl. To so mfor jnoye od ckki no reeh ew w'ere ngogi chmu ass and it tveeawrh gingo ,out ot ewer'. Ndk,i dan ew wya as theos fo nneceutro eb sly,aaw enpiatt will on fgnogvrii dan eth we. .
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Vo,le.
Lai ew( og now) ila by.

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