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 iiptsierro wendat eosm (ohuhtg nad n)egdhca !ti uyo yvtgneireh tub got ddi rgegul,ts. .
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Veil od ew in mtnnaaath. Dvlei koblsc adn beesuac uoy spheo tkmear htrae a eno yrou to uoy and ahd and we oyur egusoo,rg hte the ocpleu dhasrce olsohc dstnui usjt when undgri in mfor eveal a rdmsea ouy rekbo olst nnuys vahe the darg cyit uyo velae tpmraenta aprntatme picasuos dah het yuo ghthout - to. Him nikth od ouy ayd rveye tabou amltos still ,oysrr but 'im. T'ehvna spnkeo ot uoy ltlis naaig him. Areimrd yabb whti won a 'esh. Enbe ti in a you aevh ouy like otbau tahw wtih edrwno htta olt eurtfu oduwl. Yaers het inygrt atls ot enpsd epvro ot ouy 10 imh htta uoy rwee rthoyw. Ywlaas ewer uyo. Yurtl uoy bceaem atth dprou be utb to eomenos ouy imh worng eovrp woh yjruone tabou oelv dan no acn oyu ,rwee fo eh hougtth. Ldowu so os dpour eb yuo. Os era uoy opudr. .
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Olt ouy erwti omer a. A a okrc nad ouy ?say)awl 'nrewet ew rtyoep i(ma,tsiobu elnov ierwt dstrate veah opaer nda tbu. A tye st'i not shuilbdep, gloa stlli tub. A a of iekl ttah birfe a ug,amorl om,arulg as rewot ouy did so osddenu did (yeth cnuto gmiahrten wlel' eadm uoy that riwet unsmsisobi sbluihp fro vnree c)nyialhletc recrae ,ocne uoy ubt orf. Tds,ieex oalcsi 'youre nktargmei uyo socnuiltng aeimd asiemsv a npcoamy ptah gokwrin a in thce enrev no for ni idamegni. Voel it ouy. Era rastm lycierndib oeppuisvtr dna rosreckow yruo. Rokw uoyr voftarei etg uyo oyur yuo wiht eth lecpa attamnerp by won teh - idse ruyo pcd,maein ucseabe of llac - carstnyau omrf unmodlo ot. .
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Si dnaoru itlls mlnouod. Tshi dan 21 beta llwi be ccnrae eh msurme. Pepoel rtsete 'cnta on the dol na man eelebiv es'h. For ahs a puypp het nda eh ltlis eht eahsppti geneyr engbi ni ouipttnrae dog ndoegbiohroh. Ni yhearl harcm raey ssaped aslt. Ehs aws hse 81 and daery asw. Ehs gaev alfymi eilvoutd eth loev mchu rtheo lal scta adn ni teh os. Tsju won oyu bkac uory to ehr cyn hse koblsc to rsmpoide ernatta,mp the ehr nolg uyo ees asmedoy iwth mtmsaoero nhuoeg dan u'doy tnoi nad oyu vldie it onec evom ekma readsh crzay romf oen. Acyrz 'ist. Seapsd, lyhear farte eth gdo i and hroingsbe tem erh fo eon. . . Helyra medan. Ehs isopmer lllfiuf asw uyo taht. .
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S!)ktnha ??ityc lsod ocrleymtco no ni teh ew a( teh kbei. Aspin groniwk ndcoo ilstl ni teh r'eew no. Lohcso fi acn otg on you hatt geuh teh ahtt ew ot ursch ahd ygu eveblie ihhg mrrdiae, bfre,liy ni ouy. Ssle nad ttha eb eyar in caoolhlic an tuo uoy of tou hatn a enutdr ot ryesoulf ieasvub ldleup eh. At yevr sronheilpsita neics igknpci iunstd hthayel godo ryue'o tno. Eben ,onw snilge ywa hpraepi gdnegae 'uovey rhtee dnma ise!tm ever 'oueyr utb hatt tahn. Inferds who sueivroppt owknn pugro aer neiriebdlc awy yoevu' lal of vener yuo a vore in evha na mrof. .
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,auaniertqn mniesme ni dna oyu sdieloat nad elahn,ig uyvo'e in dmounol lielscyeap dha eilwh tlsa ujts owrhtg eth eedp reay. Fredins odevi ypal and yuo iangamz - gmaes lsitl fyendleiti ,itchtw moer you aveh nomey enw neev ughorth kmae esmtra arvsoui hmte etm and no goind gsmae a ti lilett. Oyu atwh do nyejo uyo fra stssre of mroe dan essl. .
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Hnat we we ferebo 50 inrgowg bteuck evha 05; dna 001 rmeo eitms logn a lomats a ehva ltis. 73 a adn genixitc elltti wsa ads nnuitgr. Limfay it ni os tehs'er fo teh het nca dcsar us a tisll flei a dan ekil tres all ssolimeten dnsep leik orf os be lilw yuo uoy elesf the it humc olok eetwavhr ndogi but ikel tfe,l era over it gbi tos'end teltli. Htta book isifhn. Nipas to og. Eht all sonncietnt isivt. Atceiglpyoallo alogn lingiv tawn y!uo anc dgino libud lal nbee uoy a ti no sacloi do bseecau uyo mtuinymoc dna lflu keep werhtvea uv'eoy efil uboat htnuatiec dimea gienb yuor. .
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Dreedma yrea esh ishw aveh tsoerr acbk old she lwhie letl feil i dna go baotu in cluod ahtt hte samll we ntow so us 17 awy apedrtp tfle d'ehs. .
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I lvoe you. For i uoy ma os tlagfeur. Uyo up geav reven. Oyu eptk isghpnu. Dna einosuh uoy how ti yoln selhfre era smoe to siht hr,oierlb a oyu ewos syrot sccsues ivurveds. We nogig to cikk tu,o nda no hree enojy it much 'ewer vetweahr do morf ogign sas os 'erwe to. Ew adn ew as no kd,in het yaal,sw nda vgifoigrn be ntceoeunr sheot eipnatt lilw of wya. .
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E,lov.
Ial by (we ila og )now.

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