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...

Wnaetd uoy )ngaechd idd srg,etlgu emso (ohhtgu etyrenivhg eitipsoirr got nda ti! yuo utb ouy. .
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Leiv we tmtahaann do in. Oyu cseeuba uyor ruyo adh nda ew you laeve hrtea ipasoucs ciyt hguhott lshcoo slto form yusnn ni slbock eilvd mntapeatr cepluo dan ot ogres,guo eon rmsdea adh ujts hte wenh hte adgr het het uoy uyo to gurnid a - borek dan itudns ehdrasc psoeh a atmrke evael you haev pareanttm. Do btu mhi illts sr,oyr i'm day yuo lamost yveer ikhtn utbao. Uyo ihm to nkopes istll henvat' iaagn. Dimrrea 'esh a abyb won hitw. Tlo drnoew itwh dowlu ni taht otuba future you ouy awth hvea nbee a ti ekil. Hmi ndesp yuo 01 rewe rotywh proev tath rngtyi satl to to oyu raeys het. Aaswly yuo ewer. Drpou ihm you otughth orvep oyu rgwno of nomsoee ee,rw eh tbu atth abmcee who atuob ylrtu nda you to vloe on be nac euronyj. Dulwo so dpruo you so eb. Dupro so era uoy. .
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A ouy rietw reom olt. Tweri retdtsa a lwsa?y)a tbu (otbaimiu,s a neerw't dna ckro hvae dan oenlv ouy we rptoey pearo. Bieupsh,ld ton tub s'ti a galo tlisl eyt. Amed ttah lur,oamg evrne el)tiylcncah keil for neudods idd irtwe ererac a lbihups uyo taht ouy twore thye( lel'w ,noce a outnc a trhnmegia uam,ogrl irfbe orf you os ddi but as of ibisssuonm. Atph rkeigmnta cnomypa on a iokngwr ehct eamdi ni emnidagi ouy ernev ofr imvssea sglcnniuot ni oru'ye idxe,tse a aicsol. Uoy it elov. Oisvtuprpe aer crkoorwse rmsat nad uory dyiclbrein. Eaclp eth fo - desi sayanturc uyro tramptnea uyo - tge iwth ot eht by uyro ,cipemnad orkw from uoy llac own tarvifoe easeucb mdounol ruyo. .
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Tslli ldonomu uroand si. Tish he mmresu btae and 12 ncarec iwll eb. Eveilbe man 'seh on rteste n'cat polpee dol teh an. Gdo eh ppupy rof sha nehibohdoorg eth oerptnatui tilsl adn aptepihs iegbn in yngeer hte a. Hcram reya in atsl yhearl pdssea. She aws erady 18 aws hse dna. She eth nad so levo chum vage lla ifyalm in rheot cats oevitudl eth. Rshead ehr adn one ti oyameds eakm yuo thiw ofrm cbak osierpdm won eonugh hte kblsoc rcazy esh hre dievl enoc sutj adn dou'y vmoe nyc to ptmratna,e royu to inot uoy gonl uoy ese srtmoeoma. S'it ayczr. Efatr ayelrh and ehr eth i dgo met neo sespd,a snoegbrih fo. . . Dnaem eyhral. Pesoirm fuflill ttha uoy hes wsa. .
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Hte t??yci sdlo on a( k!)nhsta eth biek ni we omeoyccrtl. Dcnoo eht 'erew no llsit aspni iognrkw in. Hgeu rdeimar, fi thta yb,lrefi oyu cna otg gyu oohcsl atth het uyo in ot vleiebe we ighh rshcu ahd on. Tdenru oyu ulpled that reay ysoufler na eb euvbais to cillohcao of eh slse tanh ni uot adn a tou. Ont eyrv niutsd 'yeour eicns hhtalye saetoiihnlsrp ogod at gipcink. Yo'ure ntah neeb vere ,onw nlsgei gandgee andm uyov'e htta prhpaei ehter way ietsm! but. Decnirbile fmro ou'yve yuo enevr an efnrdsi a veha vrppsuoiet ni nnkwo all fo veor pguor era way hwo. .
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Ieseplacly ouy ni dmunool vyuo'e eayr eht auq,nenarit mimsnee dna in aoelstid i,lanheg rhwgto juts dha dna peed iwleh tlsa. Aekm adn ltsli ti lidenefyit a ngdio etm - you vdeio tih,tcw raosvui emtsar dna manigza vene no eilttl gmsea hotgrhu lpay new mhet moer mnoye nfdrsie emags you vhea. You od of ssel stsser meor arf wtah ejyon uyo and. .
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010 we eorm 05 cetkbu ietms veha silt we tlmaso a 0;5 fbeoer nogl groiwgn nhta dan a ahev. Asw inutrng a 37 sda eitnxicg tlitel dna. Tn'oeds dpsen illw eb athevwre ti rset adrcs mnlstieoes het eifl uhmc fo yuo a fe,lt hte oyu ht'eesr and igb gnodi all tbu anc het fro kile in ltlite ti os feesl rvoe litsl liymfa a kool rae ti so lkei ilke us. Atht ookb snifhi. Og nisap to. Lal eht ntcnosntei sivit. Uoy! amdie uoabt od ti enbe tmcumnioy leif iubld a heictunat oyru acn bcseeua yuo apltoleiaycolg wnat nbgie peek ongal ogidn and oalisc nlviig no oyu lla yoe'uv ufll thrawvee. .
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D'hse i we us dculo she ouabt ielf ni og erddema lamsl evha kbac etll odl ewhli rroste adn yrea wshi ahtt teh eardtpp twno tefl 71 ywa os esh. .
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I evlo you. I for erutglfa oyu ma so. Ouy veenr pu vega. Ipgshnu etkp uoy. Helorib,r sytro sescscu it how a nda weso yuo eleshfr hist dreivuvs ylno rae ouy to sheiuon esmo. Nad od u,to we os on mrfo ogngi reeh yojen e'rew cmuh to e'wer ssa it tarheewv ickk ggnio to. Eshto adn ew fo no wayasl, be kn,id teh rnntcoeeu sa fongrigiv ilwl and ew nattpie yaw. .
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Eo,lv.
Nw)o lai yb ew( lia og.

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