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...

Uoy nyerghvite dan uto(hhg gto siritirope uoy yuo it! gn)hedca ,gsrueltg soem tub did nwteda. .
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Ew ni od tnanhaatm evli. Osr,goegu uecplo nad ouy eaevl eht synun a uosscipa eidvl suaecbe ot uoy dah yitc nda you heasdrc hte otsl ptnteaarm sutj retkam - istnud rmfo eth ew to vhea pseoh uory the amesdr ouy in hscool gutthoh a boslkc ungrid etrha borek eon uoy dgar nda newh preatmnat your eavle dah. Hktni ayd aomlst tbu evyre mih otaub ryor,s 'mi lltis uoy od. Oyu enkops lstli tha'env angai imh to. A esh' byba own thiw iardrme. Iekl obuat a hitw etruuf nowedr ti ni nbee aveh odwul tlo ouy hatt ouy tawh. Nesdp eyars ahtt the gitryn oyu to to veorp hortwy mih were 10 yuo alts. Erew yuo aslawy. Of cbeaem owh be mhi to weer, but oenosme uyo ylrut he aotbu oelv uoy dna ohthgtu can oervp htta oyu ngrow on ruoejny dorup. Uyo os eb uprod wdulo so. Udrpo uoy os era. .
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A erwti olt emro yuo. )?always yuo nad cork utb ew adtetsr eovnl erapo wteri nad mobui(a,sti orpety a wrteen' a have. Eidshbu,pl tub alog otn ltisl a tye ist'. Uyo btu eercra as ddi (etyh ,lugamor uoesndd a ttha anyhleicctl) for puishlb cuton a verne ttha amnhirget frebi unsimobiss ddi ec,on lle'w os mrgaoul, you rfo ouy dmea of owter rwtie iekl a. Ahpt orf ngaideim ssaiemv mocnpay gakmreint nscntlugoi uoy ni a erenv rye'uo a caiols media in isedex,t kgrwnio on tehc. Loev it ouy. Ptvopirsue and oryu astmr ear rowrskeco ydnlriebci. - saytancru seid frmo yb uoyr lalc pattmrane kwro to of own get teh het ihwt - yrou aeceubs you pdn,acmie your lapec oyu olnmodu ifovrtea. .
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Litsl omolndu si dunaor. Tish dna esrmmu eatb 21 ceanrc be he ilwl. Rteest eth 'ntca amn dol lbeevei on lepoep na e'hs. Lilts ppyup eht enryeg gnieb a eth has aihsppet orf nda taiuontpre ni gdo ronebdihoogh eh. Hylare ni raye tasl camhr dssaep. 18 wsa and saw she hes deayr. Adn het love hes eht all amiylf tsca tiluedvo evag os in toehr ucmh. Uyo meka elidv won ot ceon namtta,rep erh ehs ackb ees ouy oduy' nad hgnueo moev lgno reh doesmya one oyu from rsemmotoa it dna czyar ot uory oismprde teh cny hwit ntio just coslkb rdshae. Rczya 'tis. Dna rhbngosei erh teh tme fo etarf ,pdseas i erhayl neo ogd. . . Hrlaye nemda. Esh peirsmo was uoy tath fillulf. .
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Dslo eth oyecrctolm het ??iyct )nthska! ni beki ew a( no. No lltis in pinsa kwoirgn teh donco wre'e. Uyg elr,ybif hihg no gto in iveeble we adh oyu mi,derar ugeh to hucrs oyu hatt acn if ahtt ochlso hte. Tuo urelofys yuo a hatt eiasbvu ni htan dan ssle lhlaciooc tuo of yare eb ot na eh uldpel nutred. Ikgnicp yrev at tpiaoesnhlsri athhyel undtis nsice not uoer'y odog. Senilg ueyo'v eagnedg eyr'uo atht wya ow,n tbu nhat nebe reve admn eehtr tisem! ipahpre. Aer a nonkw yuo ohw of vyeuo' an lal porgu avhe ierdfsn putvosiepr renve eecrdnibli from in ovre ayw. .
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Ei,lhagn gwotrh ni adh esleaplyci mlunood lats deep ni laoidtse jtus you nemseim eray nad wheil a,etanrquni adn uyove' the. Ekma taemrs mreo dngio dneiifyetl a vhea mthe nvee nda leltti edvoi uyo htghuro nwe hwtcit, ti egasm nrdefsi - dan you vasoiur ltsil no nymoe aazgmin msage emt ypla. Ynoje of far stsrse you mero uoy sles ahwt nad do. .
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Owgignr heav list glno smeti mroe ebkctu anth ew aotmls and eavh we a 05 ;50 001 befroe a. Asd and nceixgit eltilt 37 a unntirg asw. Orf ti srcda teh kloo ear teh eikl ifel lwil iogdn ti notde's lltis eht you a iekl ndeps lymfia lla fo in bgi ouy a atreevwh revo ekil us tfel, setr nca fseel os ettlil t'eerhs and chum so be ubt isteomlsen ti. Nihsfi thta bkoo. Apsin og to. Itsiv eht lal sntncetnio. On ouy diema ttahuceni anc a flul aubto ngido ubcasee rtewehva nvliig uyo claosi lla uoyr inbge epke ygallpoictolae nebe lbdiu eyou'v it do ucionytmm atwn eifl nogal nad !uoy. .
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Sd'eh dol teh lsaml taepdrp so tell ni og twno drdmeae seh hse i thta uoldc we otesrr tlef su wehil aery ckab feil 17 ywa swhi dna avhe ubtao. .
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I yuo elov. I rfo ma os yuo algerutf. Up eagv renve you. Pket unghpsi oyu. Nda oswe uyo owh elfehrs it r,beohilr ouy era hiuoens soem ot only trosy stih a vvdiurse csscseu. Ti gnigo gogni we on rvehtaew 'weer od to os ass kcik er'we eoynj mrfo ot otu, eher nda uchm. Of sa and nda eb ehsto on llwi rgfiinvog taptien d,nki we ew awy het syawl,a unncoeert. .
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Vl,oe.
On)w go ila ail yb we(.

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