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...

N)dhcage ubt uyo osme tawend !it l,trsugeg tgo did you uoy roiirepist ngeeyhivrt gt(hhuo adn. .
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Do eilv in ew nathtmnaa. Eahtr nda avele ujts yuo ohuthtg ot morf clskob erdams you adn tlso uyo tiyc ussoicap ahd have krboe mtarke epsho tmteanpra the atrmnepat hwne idgrnu darg in dilev and a uoyr eth uoy dah aeelv oryu ew to - the ahdcsre eno chloso a itndus hte eseabcu yuo gorgu,ose nsyun euolpc. Rsyr,o 'im olmast btu yuo mih do yda hiknt oatbu tllsi rveye. You ot ganai hmi llsti skneop h'evnat. Bbay reimdra a wno ehs' hwti. Eebn oyu itwh tlo hatt it a norwed ni evha obuta ouy tuefur oludw thwa ilek. Eerw salt ot owyhtr hmi hte 01 ysrae pover psdne uyo ot hatt yuo iygnrt. Lwaays ouy wree. Cna pevor hwo wgnro udopr ouy yuo hatt osenemo veol otuba adn btu ot eh eb ameebc imh on uhtgtoh yjeornu of ,ewre oyu lyrtu. Eb wduol roudp so so you. So rupdo uyo ear. .
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Lot eirtw ouy a more. Pyerto eaorp sttdera mt(,sobiuai rock itewr 'eenrwt a nad dan vnoel ew ubt a ahve s?)ayawl uyo. Iuphlbesd, otn it's llsti yet agol utb a. Dame atth a (yhte a geahimnrt nvere rfo fo breif sa lomr,agu 'ellw )lynehcctlai eddonsu tewir aeercr ttah so a ddi did usnssomiib ouy lipbsuh yuo e,ocn ouy for ctonu ula,mogr etrow leik btu. Evren eiamd htec nogirkw thpa in on yeuor' ofr ei,exstd ieidnagm saismve uoy aosicl a nlcngtosui in aypomnc gmkintaer a. Yuo lvoe ti. Idyniebrlc uyro vriopuspet adn krocoresw msart aer. Ecapl oyur ouyr won esid etg ovtfaire - oyu ot amattpern eebcsau rmof nytaasurc itwh of ,pecamndi - the yuo odmnlou eth kwro oury by lalc. .
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Nouadr listl uonmdlo is. This mserum be he lwil adn acnrec tabe 21. Eterst na lod leviebe the 'hse an'tc man pelpoe on. Renyeg peiahstp a egbni hte illts and ni rof odg puppy he eht horodhogenbi sha ripuantoet. Ni ltas acrmh spsade yaer yraelh. Seh esh rdeay aws 81 dan asw. Ehs all oevl tcas os limayf teh uchm ni vgea and eth idlevtuo thoer. Ot oyu napae,ttmr idsproem eth egunoh crzay nyc oyu wtih ot it meov back glon dan aekm ouy kbolcs mfor hes won osymdea delvi sdearh once stuj tion erh dan oen oyru tmroaemso ees ehr 'youd. Azcry st'i. Siohgnerb tme her i atfer adn teh fo gdo p,deass eon lherya. . . Adenm yeharl. Esh asw iemprso uoy fliullf ahtt. .
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(a i??yct ibek sold eht crlcyoteom no ni ew eht askhn)!t. In inasp erew' no the krwngoi conod ilslt. Yuo rr,dmiae surch taht ygu we anc ielbeve uhge on if htta ahd ghih ot yuo eht yerbl,fi ni got solcoh. Luedlp of ocacholil isuvbae and uyo in naht that arey ssle otu rndteu eh efylrsuo eb tuo to a na. Kicipgn nseci nto vyer instsahepirlo telyhha at sidtnu godo y'rueo. Yo'uve emi!ts that ebne raiehpp ever btu nsglie amdn eengdag roe'yu rethe ntha n,ow way. In vuoy'e na over orfm vopruipest how lla oyu eahv nrsifde a nevre fo ayw rae wonnk irbdeiecln ougrp. .
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Tlas dna ahd just uoy dpee ve'you in ceeiyllpas ingehl,a aslideot lhwei het mieemsn eyra itea,urnnqa ogthrw ni nmoodlu dan. Gnido ypla llitet voedi emor dan maesg emt wen no - ict,wth it and asirvou retmas kaem ehtm you aegsm eindyfetil isltl a yomen oyu deirsfn gohrthu aehv mnzigaa enve. Wtah ssetsr uoy od ojney meor sles dan rfa of you. .
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Fbeeor eutbkc evah more gorgniw 05 a 010 a lmasot ntha ew veha 05; we tils mstie nda gnlo. A dna 73 gicxteni iguntnr telilt asw sad. Sltli teh mhuc so a yuo te'rhes a the gib dnsep ti anc lal rove so sadrc lkei yfmlia eht tesr us life ,tlfe ikel lwli orf look ubt ni dontes' nad elki leefs rvtheeaw ear little it oigdn you it fo emtosniesl be. Obko iihfns atht. Og niasp ot. Istiv hte all tenntniosc. Kpee utaob ocilsa clealpoygtailo dna diubl agonl cna veyou' csaeebu llfu hnctteiua ongid ngbie ruoy yuo awtn lal you no a dmiae tmyonicmu ti waretveh od leif ilgniv eneb yo!u. .
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Haev us cuodl dna lfei nowt preptad 71 'ehds lod mslal mdaeerd esh atubo htta reay og seorrt ni hte so tlle eliwh we ckba tlef i ywa iswh hes. .
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I levo oyu. Orf ouy i os am lfutagre. Yuo egav nevre up. Uoy pekt isgnhpu. Ioeuhsn nda some uidsvvre ebrhl,roi ytsro rhelfes thsi ewos era ot owh uoy a ouy olny ti ecsuscs. Dna ssa jnoey ew from on vhwereat kkic so ot uchm gnoig rehe ut,o to it rwe'e ewer' od gnoig. We ,kdin sa dna eoths ywa on we hte be fo llwi nda ttnpeai treonnecu ,slyawa gviorgfni. .
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V,eol.
(ew go ali ail by nw)o.

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