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...

Gto but (otghhu yuo tawend nad esgt,rlgu oems isirieptor oyu !it yuo dcg)hean idd tnheyivgre. .
.
Ew od ni thaanmnat lvie. Yuo trmepnaat dan stol mketar upelco teahr eno the to eleav oeshp hnew ouy and kcolbs orfm picsouas rgsougoe, veale the dan uyro - uhhgott veha usaebec gdra you uyo a had had eht ot rudgin stuj ledvi radmse boerk a ni hrdeasc nisutd yitc tnaetarpm lhosco the ew nsnuy you oruy. Khtni i'm bauot veyer od msatlo but imh lslit osrry, yad you. Ot him tnv'eah sltli pesokn gania yuo. A bbya own itwh earmird sh'e. Ti you veha tol ni twah ttha a dowlu eikl bouta uretuf been wiht droewn uoy. Ysaer pndse yuo atth hyotwr 10 yinrgt ewre him ot ot vrope teh salt uoy. Eerw saalwy oyu. Uyrlt were, nda oevl operv no ghhtout ouy cabeem eb orgwn can htat enemoso norjeuy you ouy btu druop ohw baout of ot ihm eh. Os so be dprou wuodl uoy. You so ear durpo. .
.
Moer a olt iewtr uyo. Sarettd a etpryo a?wl)sya ewnr'et enlov nad rcok tiwre dna a epoar aehv tmsi,(aobui you ew tbu. Tsi' aglo ont a sltli upelb,dish btu yte. For tcnou thta oyu rcaeer sbsismioun fo idd leki os celtilhnc)ya ewitr rmougl,a irefb edusodn uoy as lmg,rauo hatt mehrgtnai hiuslbp c,eno enevr a ubt uoy a a rwote ofr edma hyet( ddi l'wel. Asivems xsdiee,t miadgnei enver oyu ni scouniltng aikmrtnge pymonac ni gikrnwo a a on cilsao phta mieda thec 'eyoru ofr. Ti uyo lveo. Nad rspputoevi are owekrsrco crindilbye ryuo atsmr. Uyo yruo esid - fo muolnod ot hte rouy cbseeau hte by csayatnru anmrepatt ofrm nwo iendapmc, hitw calep tge - uoy yoru rotfieva alcl orwk. .
.
Urnaod si nmudloo stlil. 21 dna caernc sthi he mmesur teab be wlil. 'natc dlo on na sh'e eebveli etster hte pepleo man. Biegn nad eh ni hte aehpspit dbnhhoogroie genyre dog the llits rfo a uepitatonr pyppu sah. Ni arhmc alst sadsep eary hrlyea. 81 hes wsa swa seh draey dna. Lla lafimy esh erhto atsc adn cmhu viudeolt olev so aevg in het the. Carzy teh pntramaet, see mveo one ugoneh cnoe ync kabc leidv ormf yasmoed ot thiw ti mkae to ouy reh she ustj ryuo nda uy'od dashre uyo nad emrsatoom reh psreodim koslcb nwo goln otni uoy. Tsi' czyra. The odg reh i bgrenhios sdse,pa feart haylre of oen dna met. . . Aemdn ehlary. Irpmeos was she ahtt fllliuf ouy. .
.
Losd (a n)tkhas! teh ebik ni ew het no ycrtmloeco ?ytic?. Het ncdoo were' wionkrg on in ainps tills. Atht olchso uheg in if uhcsr nca ew teh guy dah ihgh elevebi efrb,lyi d,earimr ouy htta uoy got no to. Ttah fsrlyeou slse nda uvseabi a eb ryea ni ot you pueldl he dtrneu tnah fo cohlloaci na tou uto. Isecn oyeru' pcikgni diunst eryv notpreihliass ont heaylth odog ta. !esitm hiaeprp nlgeis reve hant ywa btu ehrte no,w gdenega bnee 'yoeur dnma thta vu'yoe. Ear an veha of morf ptsruvieop rsnfeid reov awy uyo idnreilebc puorg lal nnowk a vnere in ohw oyev'u. .
.
Mulodon dna meesnmi ael,gnih in deep ni llipceysea dah tals eth wgotrh tjus otlidsae yaer nutiara,enq you yeuo'v elwih dna. Odngi ielltt lypa wen egsam yuo even uoy agmnaiz eieltfndyi adn rsmate a itlls mgsae houhrtg yenmo emka ehva it edvio dna emth more t,cwiht tme - aovrusi no eisfrnd. Raf enoyj tessrs uoy essl dna awht uoy fo rome od. .
.
A eavh 010 tils we nhta glno freobe rmeo ew eimts 5;0 a iorggnw 50 tkcube ahev smtoal adn. Asd dan 37 swa rintgnu a xencgiit llitte. Cna etrs eht you os ti iamfyl in su sltli e'tdnos casdr iwll tub eawerhtv rhee'ts lal a eth chmu be denps liek aer ibg rfo you a of so lefi teseolsmni it ielk kile olok vreo efesl ti elttil and the ,telf iodgn. Obok tath ihsifn. Og ot spnai. The snctonenti tivis all. No imaed buaot ifle ti ilngiv otmicnmuy ondgi iacols fllu ylptoaegollcai lbuid dna uyro pkee a inbeg you ebne anc !yuo aevtewrh uyo od nloag 'yveou atnw ebascue lla tctnheuai. .
.
Town ldo so wheil nad htta eray smlal vahe rdeaedm she ayw i cakb 17 rerost doulc eth su sh'ed in oubta seh hiws lfie ltfe ew og pdaprte eltl. .
.
Ovel i uyo. I rfo uyo so fearlutg ma. Evren evga up oyu. Igushnp eptk ouy. Tsyor seow ihoesnu a ti ,hebirrlo ohw esirdvuv nad oyu yuo euscscs rlshfee noyl ear emos ot tshi. Hvweerta ass uhmc ot ot gngio do w'ere nad os 'wree fmro gigon no it ew cikk oynej rehe u,ot. Eth rcnoeetnu ayw asy,lwa ew of nda ew on pttneia eb and kidn, gnviiofrg hseto wlli as. .
.
Oel,v.
By ail go )own ila ew(.

This user has written an update to this letter.To see what they wrote, please

Press ← and → on your keyboard to move between letters

Write new comment

Load more comments