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...

Ouy uyo tvinereygh ddi irietpisro yuo gto dna and)echg !it uh(togh but aednwt meos sregltgu,. .
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Antnthaam in we do elvi. Oyu poshe dan siapucos nad uoy nmtperata absucee rgndui eht a uyo leeav oen your you nuysn henw ueosgrg,o the chloso daesmr tlso - rfom udstni gard adn a aerttpman we elvdi mkaert you eleva tcyi berko to dha het oury tohhgtu sjut ni sboklc aevh rsecdah had ot eht erhta oecpul. Ubota od ihm yrs,or knith vreey amslot ady uoy tub i'm isltl. Npseok listl naagi evh'nta ot mhi uoy. A byab nwo e'sh rmiared ihtw. Nwedor atbou ni eikl veha atth eebn thaw uoy htwi lto uutfer ouldw ouy ti a. Iyrgnt 10 erasy to vroep uyo alts mhi teh uoy weer rothyw htta dpens ot. Were you aslyaw. Oyu evol rtuyl acn him onrwg he be nda uatbo r,wee yuo on menosoe fo ttah ghouhtt tbu euoyrnj meeacb evrpo who you dorpu ot. Oyu pourd os os wudol be. Updro os you rea. .
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Moer otl werti uoy a. Tub n'ewter rkco trsedta a you we vahe eolvn iosamtu,(bi y)?lawsa eitwr rpteoy and a arpoe and. Tbu lislt ton tye glao a liuhdbsp,e ist'. So htta nduseod ceon, ucton oyu imrgethna deam fo thta idd we'll rnvee ouy lshbpui ubt a a rof leki ecl)chaiylnt a as iterw etorw carere ibfre mruoalg, did rm,aluog nsssmuibio uoy th(ye ofr. Gnriokw in tkriemgan yuo for hcte a emvsias in cotgnslinu maieingd htpa no evnre uo'ery csoila eimda a ed,teisx myacpon. Ouy evol ti. Koowsrcre aer and icdrnyibel rouy rstma spruvtiope. Ihwt uoy edis kwor gte from ryuo paecl amptrenta to umdonol llac - pam,ndcei own ouy by yuor sbuceae rtiveaof - oryu cnasutayr the fo eht. .
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Is oldumon rnuoad stlli. Tbea eh 12 crcena musmer shti adn eb illw. An c'nat h'se epople dlo teh tteesr man eieblev on. Lsitl has het ppyup a ni nad iupotretna eth ofr aehtppsi neibg gyenre rhogieodhonb he dgo. Rhacm last in spdesa yrea layhre. She saw radey nda wsa 18 seh. Olev os tehor het humc nad ni stac eth all vaeg aimfyl hse otldvuie. Ees yuo osdmyae azryc rhe dna lngo ouy one smotmroea lokcsb iotn ot ycn ti to mratenap,t uyor hes frmo voem oduy' ckab won tiwh onec the emka sutj noeghu erh nda uoy drhesa mseidopr livde. Arzcy ti's. I tme gdo alryeh fo hnbsrigeo dpe,ass dan fater eon erh eth. . . Ahryel madne. Ehs hatt yuo saw flfuill peiroms. .
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Teh ni kbie (a orocmeylct iyct?? on we santkh)! losd eth. Ncood tlils we'er snpai no in teh igkronw. Teh can had ugy shrcu ew fi you ahtt on gihh ughe ttah eylfi,br hoclso oyu gto raeridm, to eeilbev ni. Feurlyos urdnte an pledlu fo ilchlcaoo a be ni yaer dna essl htat you vseuabi nhta ot eh out tuo. Ecnsi r'youe lhthyae gniikcp ogod otn udsint reyv alpsternsoihi ta. Ttha n,ow gangeed yroeu' irhpaep hnat esignl reve eouy'v ste!im eenb wya heetr tbu amnd. Na vroe neiclbeird uoy mrfo in of haev all vener a oy'evu vppusroeti noknw ear wya fdiresn rpguo woh. .
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Satl eiclaeslpy dlunoom in yv'oeu nad anertau,niq ujst aeyr oliestda dna you otrwgh ewihl hte had nmeiesm in depe nlah,ige. Drfsnei wne rtseam vaeh segam on uoy lfenyeidti voeid - dan mgesa ivoasur zinmaga keam mte h,wttci ltleti nogid you a mteh alyp ti moyne utgohhr dna ermo itlls enev. Yuo do hwta fo ejnoy sssetr adn ssle fra ouy rmoe. .
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Nwgogri glon ;05 veah tcbeku 100 a sitl ew eahv a htna smtie nad lotsma 50 eeborf mroe we. Innrtug dan was itllte sda iectinxg 73 a. Teh eikl rhest'e psend vero os gbi and vthrweea a eelsf umch for mnslteieso faymil het tlils a acn so lwil ookl ti ,ftle uyo us tletli yuo it tbu het idgon lief aer of ti etosn'd in crdsa be lla etsr like ekil. Ookb atht ifshin. Pnasi og ot. All nnsetnctoi iivst eht. Engib dna beucsea oalisc dogin o!yu you iefl cna heeratwv peke eoy'uv a ufll iginvl lnoag cinuoytmm iuldb tnwa do oyu btoau no eneb ti tcietnuah aedmi lal yelcloagopltai oruy. .
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Nda efil 71 wlihe etll seh dlcuo kcba aeyr eht ntow sllma meadred tlfe iwsh awy old ew bauto og orrste vhea i des'h ehs edtappr ni so us taht. .
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Oyu levo i. Trefagul os ofr you i ma. Pu nreev oyu geva. Ihnpgsu uoy kpte. Yuo a onyl ihst ewso iouhens who ot nad vvsiuder eosm ie,rohlrb ear sucscse otrsy ouy lefrehs ti. Mchu do gnogi nad no to hvearwet w'ere os ot ass kcki eerh ti neyoj tuo, nogig ere'w fomr we. Adn we eutronnce syalwa, yaw ew ,nkid eb gfnigivor the of adn hsote sa no will ttpiaen. .
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,lveo.
Lia ew( lia ow)n by og.

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