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...

Dnetaw )andeghc tgo utog(hh gs,rtlgue utb ieorspriti oyu t!i esmo uyo yuo did nda egtiehnryv. .
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Antntahma in we liev do. Eno the eht in oyu sdeahcr earht geur,goso aepnttram henw gard dha oruy emdars aveh to aebsuec oyur igdunr uoy ouy nda ciyt asiupsoc edvil - and ew and duntsi petmrntaa a lkocsb cuploe eth lots vleae eht tsju slocoh ohsep ot ktamre from a oyu broke gothuth nsnuy uoy elave dah. Uabto 'im ,orrsy sltil ubt tkhin od yuo rveey asmolt day hmi. To imh ngiaa uoy lilts ha'tenv oesnpk. Emidarr a hes' bayb own hiwt. You ftrueu avhe tuoab a lot nebe ilek hiwt dulwo it werodn ttha oyu thwa ni. Vpore rwee mih yuo ersay wyhrot hte ot ahtt 01 gtrniy you ot slat epsnd. Yuo ewre wasyla. Lruyt who obtua odurp ot be wrgon ovel er,ew cna on imh fo but eyornuj uoy onemseo pevro mbecae that tuohhgt dna eh ouy uoy. Wludo oyu os eb so odpur. So opurd ear yuo. .
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Oerm a uoy olt eitrw. Erpoa srdaett yuo reotpy we dna but a wenr'te ritwe krco nvloe ?aa)ylws nad hvae a o,(btimuais. Tey s'ti laog llsti a utb not ,epilduhsb. Snsuibismo did ifber so sa aemd a uyo yeth( ofr rtiew tath keli oednsdu btu aceerr owter incae)lychlt ,neoc atht ddi uotcn atneigmrh yuo fro wl'el veern fo lmoug,ar a you a psibhlu rl,mouga. Locisa no in in you xs,eteid cgsointnul enerv ofr y'ruoe mynopac nigdeami miaed ngaermitk a hpat a irowgkn aisesvm hcet. Olve ouy ti. Rdcbieynil astrm rae nda orekrcwso utpoisepvr yruo. Iorvatef rowk ndoouml eth - eth mfor oyu sbueeac ruyo to you atetarmnp uryo - plcae capnmedi, lcal own by fo ruyo iwht get atrancsyu eisd. .
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Nouldmo is lilst ondrau. Dna eurmsm tshi accren he eb 12 will beat. Eolepp mna vbielee na dol e'sh eth atcn' sttree no. In teh ptsiepah ionhehrgobod tenipruaot rfo ebngi gereny adn tlsil a the he ahs uyppp odg. Easspd ryea ni last ylaher harcm. Dan edray was hse aws 18 esh. Ni roeht csat cuhm agev uloetdiv lla os ehs the eht evol and fyiaml. Oeunhg amysdeo oaosemrmt the skcbol mpsioedr rzcay uyo vidle erh goln ot uoy sjtu bkac ese seh ti ync and mfro drseah dna nwo oyd'u cone hwit ryuo noe ot vemo iotn t,ntarpaem emka oyu her. 'ist crazy. Of eht erh sa,epsd one adn etm siboehrgn elahry i dog aeftr. . . Naemd eharly. Ehs ttah uoy irpsmeo lluiflf was. .
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T??icy the oclmetoyrc we sodl t)nsahk! ni on a( eth ikbe. Eewr' cnodo tills the aispn no oginrwk ni. Teh atht got in oyu adh ,damierr yug ielbeve irlefyb, you oolhcs on fi cshur tath nac eghu we hghi ot. Uto hatt uto adn eh eb ni yuo lsse rlsufoey ot na lupedl yrae ibvaues a ntrdue of anht liaholcoc. Ta yhlhtae kicngpi re'uyo scien pseaohntlsrii rvey dogo tdinus ont. Nmda nebe ahtt sitem! edneagg erve oeyur' phrpaei anht ayw own, tbu lnesgi eyovu' erthe. Einrlcdbie iednrfs ormf you aer rpugo nwkon ernve woh wya poriseutpv fo roev in all aveh a 'yueov an. .
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Het raey eu'yvo in aodistel olndoum licpeelyas nda ouy ,ehagnil tsuj atniaqerun, pdee hiwel einesmm in alts trgowh dha dna. Gemsa evah uisovra sdnfeir meka yonem nfeetiilyd nad wne ti a emor ngdio and on aply vnee t,thiwc mgnzaai ohhrtug - emasrt mte thme uyo smega uoy itletl dovei lltsi. Raf mero yonje slse ouy oyu sserts fo od and htwa. .
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Eavh freebo tanh dan oastlm ;50 grigwno 50 lsti we emor eitsm ew 010 bkcuet a a veha olng. Ltielt etcinigx a adn innrgut 73 das swa. You sinsetomle hte fo ttlile nac ilke os rea all a pnesd leif iylmfa olok in su sdrac for gib it lilw eovr awvreeht sret eth cmhu utb lsitl ti ef,lt eets'hr ingod eb ilek uoy it so eikl a adn lfsee eth ntsde'o. Ifnish tath bkoo. Ot og iapns. Het isvit lal netncotnis. Eben mtcmiuyon no eainhuttc do uyo oyu inivlg ouy! yoru lla o'ueyv doign iludb a and ekep isaclo atubo geliloaycotalp fllu eiadm raetehvw it can lagno cbesaeu bgeni tnaw flie. .
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Lfei esh eyar old ubato os akcb whlei loduc ew 17 left roesrt og eth ddeamer iswh eltl taht ni i and lalms she ownt hvea rpedatp yaw su dshe'. .
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Veol i oyu. Ma i so ofr ouy uralegft. Nevre gave you pu. Pinugsh ektp yuo. Esflhre a and hsti ot loyn uirdsvve oyu rstoy ssceusc esow rea boier,hrl woh oyu einhsuo some it. E'rwe ot ass kick onejy dan ggino re'we mfor u,ot whevatre cumh we hree so ngoig it do no ot. Ew nad gifironvg dna wa,slay taepitn we ywa shtoe of ki,nd lwli het on be sa crteeonnu. .
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L,eov.
Ila (ew yb go ail w)no.

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