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 oyu eegyhnivtr rtpesoiiri echndga) daentw gg,uerstl ti! uoy (hgtuho dan ubt uyo osem idd. .
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Vlei od ew nthamtana ni. Oyu adh ni oseph rgsgo,uoe a rmedas ew jtsu etnrapmat hte eht ather oyur dna gdiurn ouy kmtear tlso tyic dna dgra eno vahe ahd puloec ot istudn oury nad fmro baseeuc bskocl pnetmarat ascrhde ot oberk hte nehw olsohc uothhgt - uoy lived eealv eth a uoy uyo eeval syunn oiupscsa. Ady aotbu od tbu taoslm sitll yuo 'im him ithnk r,sroy reeyv. Lltsi poeskn oyu imh giana tahve'n ot. Hiwt a redmari onw abby she'. Ti hatw avhe yuo a nebe yuo tol in udwlo lkei tiwh that aubot deorwn tfeuur. 10 imh ot uyo prvoe ot oyu ahtt tynrgi hte psdne esray hryowt tlas ewer. Ouy alayws reew. Nrgow to lvoe eer,w how dna on mhi ernyouj can ebmace tbu uyo roevp otughht ylurt of ooeenms pdoru ouy ouy eb atbuo thta eh. Be os duwol ouy so ropdu. Pduro you os are. .
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Oyu lto a rmeo reitw. Orkc we sa)wyl?a dna voeln yuo ubt weter'n soi,bit(aum a yerpot atrtsde vhae arepo nda riewt a. Gaol uih,sbpdle btu ilslt ton a tey is't. Ouy eahnigrtm ugmalo,r ushbilp cunto ibsmsnsoui rof cylhnae)cilt dema ietrw rolagu,m birfe t(ehy taht uyo taht as yuo reacre venre roewt did ceo,n os a sendudo a ofr a 'llew kile idd fo tub. Oey'ru thap a npomcay ngdieiam a ni scoila admei orf enrev kegatirmn no cslginnuto iesvmsa xdee,tsi in ehct oyu norikwg. Olve it yuo. Nad rae yrou rndlbeicyi amrst rorkwcoes vtpeosuipr. You uyor epacl emtnptara - side etg hte of oyur - royu won trfoiave lcla monoldu yb from ouy ot the caanstuyr orkw beseacu nceam,idp twih. .
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Onardu is dmnolou istll. Shit eh iwll accnre 21 eursmm tabe eb nad. Na het 'tanc nam elpope ehs' on evelibe terset old. The nad a ahs teh ptpesiha ogd nttaouirpe renegy litls ofr ni he bgnei hedbhrooiong ppuyp. Yraleh ni eyar tsal rcahm spsdea. Hse 18 aws dna ehs reyad aws. Eagv vleo dan in hes the all erhot ilfyma hmuc eutdvoli stac teh so. Cslobk oemmasotr hre unoghe oudy' ongl odaysem evlid ync rhe azycr rshdea ti iwht ofrm and yuo omev oryu ese ekma kbca ouy ot hes oint ceon juts eht nwo poedimrs and ,nptrteaam to oyu neo. St'i zaryc. Pe,sdas eon i nirobhesg and het aleryh efrat ehr dgo etm fo. . . Edamn aeryhl. Irpsmeo esh illlfuf was uoy ahtt. .
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We omytlrecco ni kh!an)st hte sodl iebk a( i??ytc on eht. In psina teh itlls on rewe' nikworg ocodn. We otg htta you ugy eim,darr cna iveeelb gihh if yuo to oohlsc hgeu on htat frl,eiby ni adh eth srhcu. Tou utedrn slse ibsauev he llduep hant a eb ot yuo of htta dan in sueyolrf arey na uot loilhocca. Iigncpk hahltey otn nielhaoisstrp cenis at tnsdiu gdoo rey'uo vyre. But rvee eipaprh sgline iestm! dmna atht e'uyor yaw no,w ehter nhta eenb egedagn eou'vy. Yoveu' eavh fo a ilerndcbei uoy eprposvtiu ni ear defisrn woh fmro way nknow an nvere all gpour orev. .
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Ehga,inl alst owtrgh aiceesplly wlhie had eyra teh nad oeyu'v monuldo sujt in nad deep sneeimm ouy ni tdalisoe aqanrunti,e. Dnsifer it adn auosriv ehva iltsl nzaaimg oymne a adn neev mhte oding emt no lyap uyo egasm ientfieldy uoy - htiwct, voeid etllit rsatem ekam moer nwe gesam orhhugt. Oerm od wath fo nad oyu uoy lses raf ssters yoejn. .
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Latosm eboefr ahev 05 5;0 kebtcu esmit emro lgno nda ew avhe niggrwo lsti a 010 hnta we a. Eilltt ictinexg ads a nurtgni nad was 73. Hmuc rset edspn a ti ti a su so nca olko fro csdar lla lief os eavrhtew be h'ester seefl the tetill iafyml bgi utb ltlis uyo wlli het klei 'oetnds rvoe it keil eth in fo era nad oigdn slmoeetsin oyu ,eftl keli. Nhiisf boko htat. Inasp ot go. Lal eht vtisi ntnseciotn. Uyo rwtaheev toyummicn efli gvlnii oryu a dubil lluf lla ti uo!y no eeubcsa oyu nauictteh been lpyaatocogelli iodgn nad ibegn sialoc butao nogla kpee od vyeuo' iadme cna twna. .
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Lwihe ni kbac go se'dh dna hes stroer rtpepda hwsi taht us i odcul ftel os leif ownt aeedrdm evha llte odl eary salml we ywa eth oubta 17 seh. .
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You i evol. So oyu urfltage i fro am. Evrne up avge yuo. Ghnupis ouy ktpe. Ylno yuo era rhobrli,e uoy to a itsh hwo lfeshre nda tsyor ti seom vsdverui swoe enushio scescsu. Ot noggi sas 'wree it ot hrveetaw kkic we nyjoe heer on ,uto so nad cmuh do ingog erw'e ofmr. No reenucton and sheto rvniiggfo fo salyw,a as ew be ywa tenipta llwi ,nkdi the ew and. .
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Ve,ol.
Ali go )onw lia by e(w.

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