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...

Meos de)cnhag hogut(h iiesioprtr !ti did you ubt ouy dan ogt gutsr,gle uyo dwaetn eniyrtehgv. .
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Nntthamaa ilev in we do. Elvea oyu noe adgr cloosh lvied cousipas a lavee csblok esdachr - ueopcl oruy eht nda hvae ros,gugoe yunsn emaktr ahd eeacusb ehwn ew to ouy hte soehp htaer het yuo diusnt had stju dugnri eth in nda anettmpra dna uoy fomr ersadm yuo a hhtogtu ot tareptanm tyic ruoy tols okrbe. 'mi do siltl ktnhi oyu ihm yda mltsao yreev rr,yos tub butao. Ginaa lilst tehanv' ot him osenkp uyo. Reimrad wno a 'seh abyb iwht. Ti you eben baout dwlou htat ndewro ni ehav twih rfutue otl oyu a kile awht. Mhi ot yuo eth sepdn 10 pvoer ytgirn thta ryesa lsta rwee to roywth uoy. Yuo slwaay ewre. Yuo proev durpo he oyu wer,e thta ot oevl be cna on mih rutyl worng fo emeacb adn atbuo omeosen uoy uhgttoh owh jueyorn tub. Be rdpuo so oyu so ldwou. Ear uoy so dopru. .
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Ewitr a eomr uoy lto. Ew esarttd a nad twrie w?)yasal enwr'te okrc oarpe aveh tpreoy a dan but ouy asui(mtibo, noevl. Sitll a ubt tsi' tey oalg sdpehb,lui ton. A evnre a atemghrin bfrei fro oyu lleiccnh)yat as ismsnosibu did lkie that ug,lmora tath uyo a oec,n ouy aedm of rfo nucot ednuods ddi werit el'wl so y(het tbu twreo creear uilsbhp ,ugromal. Ofr tsgnicuoln imdea a 'ruoye a minigead tehc mrgkienta uyo amcpony okgwinr esmavis phat ni in scaloi ,ixseedt evrne on. Ovel oyu it. Oryu cnribiydel itrsoeppvu ratsm nda rea rwsorkceo. Oruy tptrneaam the esdi nscrautya egt uoy hwit you ecpla call fo yoru revoifat - anecp,mdi oryu rmof uebcase loomdun to yb - own owkr eth. .
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Uonlomd is dnroua tllis. Htis etab llwi dna be cacern mermsu eh 12. N'cat na amn srteet eielebv eth no 'ehs oeppel dlo. The fro het eygnre upppy eoibdhroognh hsa tisll a he odg dan hipaestp in gibne neotrtuapi. Sdsepa rcamh ni hreyla eyra tsal. Wsa eaydr she ehs asw 18 nad. Eth she so csta ni family vloe letduiov hoert lal the muhc dna eagv. Tion make htiw won one ooasmemrt fmor her nda adserh oyu hes eaoysdm kabc lcksbo tsju uryo to nyc ot arcyz o'udy ouhgen rhe ilevd voem ees yuo ti ouy het sdiropme npetm,tara logn ocne adn. Sit' zacyr. Arfte met dna dog eignhsrob eno i fo reh ,spdase aelrhy het. . . Lhraey nmdea. Asw taht epmsrio yuo llfluif hes. .
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Kbei ew in teh (a cyeclmotro sodl eht it?c?y !tah)nsk on. In on iowknrg eht itlls ocndo e'rew sinap. Atth nca ehgu ugy hte losohc if no shucr eb,yiflr a,rdmrei atth ew gto ni uyo ielvbee ot ouy dah hihg. Aiollhcco ahtt atnh svauibe eh eutndr yuo uot ot slse an pllude ni furselyo erya a of tou eb nda. Vyre hthylae dtnisu nto u'yero at eiissptolnarh npckgii good sniec. Damn wno, nhat tub elnsig ever htta o'ruey rhtee uv'yeo eebn yaw andgege iset!m riheapp. Lal vnere yaw in difners oyu ov'yue onnkw ear ohw eavh na of lreindbiec a rove rotppeuisv porgu rmfo. .
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Wthorg jstu nad ,qnunaitera ltas eepd lunoomd osdtaeil eoyvu' in esmnime ayer teh lgnhia,e uyo eslpilacye liwhe had ni dan. Ti eeiifldnty adn lilts sramte rughoth yoenm masge no frsendi avhe tme ihwtc,t ignaamz wen kame emht vriauso vnee orem veodi nigod ltilte adn - uoy seagm a ouy layp. Essrst jyone yuo and essl mero raf fo do wath oyu. .
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Nolg dan ltsi orgiwng mreo a atnh isemt oeferb somtal evha a 010 keubtc 05 we we 5;0 vahe. 73 das tunring adn a ltltei tngciixe saw. Lmfayi humc feil rcsda ni tub a liek era istll be roev igb eehsrt' elsef of olko iongd lsismetone ti su lilw stre keil ouy uyo hte acn kiel and os teh os lal eht rof eltilt to'dnes ,telf evtwehra a it it pensd. Okob ttha nifshi. Og sianp to. All tnsnotcien siitv teh. Etarevwh awnt aloics ubacsee naitcuteh ebne mucotynmi eepk lal you! can negbi emadi ouy nad you no lnigiv ganlo it yoru ubtoa ndigo a fiel opycaaillltego flul iubdl do ye'vuo. .
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Lamls su 71 pdraetp raye twon ew whsi ni eadrmde og ackb veah letf i seh dan teh ifle ouldc rtesor etll obuat lod dh'es seh os htta hweli awy. .
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I lveo you. Ofr am you i aueltfrg so. Pu rnvee vaeg uyo. Gnhispu you ektp. Sssccue nad it wseo rae thsi usonieh rudisvve nlyo some a birhlroe, uoy otyrs efehlrs oyu to ohw. Ot sas we ingog ot erwe' nad 'reew ngoig no od kcki cuhm ti wvrhtaee rehe yoenj so uot, frmo. Npateti eb we adn we on nad liwl d,nik ,salyaw frnivoggi fo otshe the couentenr sa way. .
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,olve.
Ew( og own) ail by ila.

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