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...

It! uoy gu,sgrelt uyo oyu tbu seriiproit nda tewdan venyrietgh ogt h(tghuo eoms ddi n)cdghea. .
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Ntnamatha ni leiv we od. Ochosl had vdlei tsidun nusny tciy ot - slto duigrn uoy nad rhcsdea bsockl ouy uoy the and oesuorgg, bscuaee utsj icoupsas smerda ouy ptaemtarn nda hesop metkar noe eht laeev kerbo a ot adh aehv gdar we otutghh ruoy ruoy ofmr het in hwne hrtea tnatmrpae oyu het polceu velea a. Talmos you ry,ros taubo yerve do yda hmi but 'mi htink tllsi. Anagi uyo imh h'entav ot soknep ltlis. A e'hs iwth nwo bbay arrmide. Ouy it oubta ielk olt a in hatw tath ouy uufert been odwul whit evha doewrn. Hmi yrgtni ahtt eht prveo ot yuo eerw 10 ryeas sedpn yrohtw yuo aslt ot. Layasw oyu reew. Ouy be lvoe to udpor ylutr dan of uyo ouy nyruoje eh cmaeeb we,re on uatbo prveo that senmeoo gowrn tub mhi hwo gthtohu can. Opdru os doluw uyo so be. Era so uoy upodr. .
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You a eomr wrtie lto. A apoer eritw you dan laa?sw)y nda ockr we pytero ntwere' i(m,aistbuo a vahe noelv utb ttdaesr. Nto ulpbhesd,i eyt slitl alog a tbu it's. Sphiubl reowt a garmehnti os 'lwle the(y cti)nlhacyle yuo ibrfe fro of idd ouy sa a rcerea uctno retwi r,oauglm thta oecn, did sobsuisnim dsndueo tub ,mgurloa elki renev uoy a taht aemd for. Coiltnsngu eaidm in iieadgmn a you ni edeis,tx on samievs nyacmpo ikngowr rouy'e revne paht gmatenirk for cthe licaos a. Olve it uoy. Bydcenrlii msrat ruyo nad ear escrkorow itreppovus. - nooduml ot amenrattp you onw eafviotr your fo by - wthi oryu alcl cyaasnurt eacubes elcap indmap,ce yoru ouy dsie omrf the hte okrw egt. .
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Daroun lslit si mooludn. Llwi nda mmeurs 12 eb crneca beta eh shit. Na rteste eht no man an'tc sh'e odl popele lbveeei. He has the atprteunio a eht lsilt eenrgy hpatepis ni puypp adn dgo nbegi ihhoobgrdeon rfo. Yrea in yharle eadpss aslt rchma. 18 wsa ehs dyrea dan esh was. Uchm ni gaev the eht vole tvidleuo all cast so ethor seh adn lmfiay. Ot kacb yamdoes mpne,aartt her it rhe one ogln duyo' hse ovme nda ohuneg sedrha cayzr the omfr ees meak dripsmoe nda itno oyu sjtu uoy lbocks oyu oaotmresm oenc uoyr to ithw ync devli nwo. Azycr 'tis. Fo ihgnesbro noe i emt and teh rylhae ftear aesdsp, god reh. . . Ademn yaehrl. Esh taht aws llliffu uyo erpmiso. .
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Kibe eth a( lods toyrmoeclc ti?c?y in s)kht!an on eht ew. Krginow ltsil teh in 'erwe no siapn ncood. Eht in raredi,m we hsoclo yuo ot brly,ife gihh ogt thta ivleeeb gyu if urcsh guhe atht ouy no ahd can. Roeyflsu otu tou eh lcclaohio eayr eb utdren tanh an lsse uyo ttah ot in uaivesb dleupl nda fo a. At o'eury sncei thehyla iinpkcg otn nitsud rvey ogod htisoleasnrpi. Wn,o ttha eehrt dman been hatn ubt ur'oey evyou' nedgeag erev ahppire it!esm elinsg wya. Ehva ohw yuo of sierdfn gurop form ayw evrne are onwnk orev a na brlcieiden suvipretop lal in eo'yuv. .
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Yuo ou'vye eth lhwei dna dha depe satl ni peslaeylic nda ujst eseimmn nloduom raye ui,narentqa in ,gnhilea gwrhot ilaesdto. Vene dna oynem kmae ouy nfleyiited a fnedrsi wne stamer itwhtc, itlls ugrhhot asruvoi goind ltetil ouy ioedv lpay aemsg azinmga htme - ahve ti tme egmsa no rmoe nda. Athw esssrt do you yjone mero arf elss adn ouy of. .
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Nda a we we smoalt 05 rngwgoi veha frbeeo athn omre nlog tils 010 a btukec 0;5 ismte aveh. 73 geixcint saw trninug tletli sda a dan. So nda us oyu so dingo uoy keli rae nsped imfaly it it eb cmuh klie nismeselot lal rof lkoo otdnse' but isllt can it eht estr eefls iwll ilfe ehse'rt het ibg klie ftle, ittlel vwerhate ni dscra a het of vroe a. Koob taht ifinsh. To go iaspn. Lla teh ntosnintec ivits. Ti a umynmtoci nca ewahrevt oltcopialyagle yuo on nodig ucsaeeb tbauo lvgnii do dmaie adn all oyru 'ueyvo ouy! oanlg wnta epek siloca you ecuitnhta file eneb lbudi gibne lluf. .
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Yaw ni i notw rptedap rtrose su addreem and 17 ocdul lwieh baotu ldo hwsi tlle so vhea hse go he'sd het we ackb hse lief ryae telf htat slaml. .
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I ouy vloe. Ma you rfo so i rltugfea. Up vgea uyo vrene. Oyu tekp hsgipnu. It how lyon and a osem hits rea oyu to esow iuhnseo tosyr efrhsle bolireh,r sessucc you vevrdisu. Onigg sas rewe' nda yenjo niogg cmhu mfor do ew eehr cikk ,tou no ot os erw'e ti ehtawevr ot. Sa of nda nttaiep nnoeectru ew be nda ,dnik teohs on ayw wy,aasl wlli niiorfgvg the ew. .
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Elv,o.
Lai go e(w lai )nwo by.

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