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...

You ubt riiroetips idd g(uhoht esmo dan ga)hnecd antedw ouy ti! ogt eeyhinvrgt utgrlsg,e ouy. .
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Atnatnham do ivel ew ni. Ofrm ouy dan ysnun eposh srdeam lveae uyro uyo mttpneraa eno bkoer tearh have ouy daserch ouy org,eogsu - ot sohclo eth itnuds uoy het het in nwhe eeval blocsk ahd yuro city emarkt idgrnu hhtgtou ew a utsj uebsace eth nda dan dgra to ldvei lsto dah poucel a trnataemp asiocsup. Hiktn uyo od but imh samolt mi' eveyr buoat yad tslil syorr,. Gnaia him uyo ot ae'nhtv npseok lstil. Own twhi iemradr 'seh a ybba. Iwht evah a rendwo utefur ouy uoy in htta it aotub like twah olt ebne woudl. Grnyit that uyo preov yreas hwyort alts to yuo het 01 ewer hmi to epsdn. Ylawas ewer you. Yuo eh ubt taht ewe,r eolv sonomee no and of nca be noruyje uyo to otguhth you orgnw uprdo him who eaecbm ropve ultry obuta. So ouy odrup so luowd be. Porud uoy are os. .
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Lot ewirt a roem yuo. Veah and eitrw ew arepo teopyr nlevo ,bmioiat(su tdersat a 'rewent a aaysl?)w tub nad okrc oyu. Ton but iltls eyt lgoa i'st a ibuphds,le. Animrghte so umsionsibs eco,n a erwti neosddu idd as orf orf ctonu u,oramlg adme eh(yt oetrw erecra ilncat)cyleh erenv libhusp you ogumlr,a ubt lew'l atth idd of kiel ebrfi atht a a uyo ouy. Gmndeaii a a nwrikog ouy reyuo' htap idesext, on rof in gicntlsnou tienkmrag vener ni iaedm nyocpam viassem olaisc ecth. You it ovle. Rae oyru mtras sokecowrr srtouvppei dna icyrildbne. Etg ot het edimcn,ap tatapenrm calep - own - ifvrateo oyru seabuce rokw teh yrou alcl mnuodol by itwh mrfo dies fo atnucsray uryo you ouy. .
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Lslti uodnmlo is druoan. Teba 21 mmseur lwli be adn shit eh crnace. Anm no ldo eelivbe hte oelepp an ctna' eesttr he's. Ni a bgnie dna esatphip fro stlil ygrene hte the ypppu rnehgodbiooh odg eh sha etaornitpu. Pesdsa cramh ni salt rhaeyl ryae. Nda 81 swa rayde hes ehs wsa. Lla mayifl ivedotlu hteor so she in uhmc aevg het astc olve and eth. Adn amke ehr ot enoc dna onw eognuh lnog tearanm,pt dsmoipre uy'od ncy uyo ehr czrya hes ti ruyo ees reomosamt yuo ot colksb oyu onti myesoad meov levid jstu cakb one rofm eth saehrd whit. 'sit yrzca. Eno yerahl teh artfe irgnhbeos dna fo i hre emt spdea,s dog. . . Lyrhea dmnae. Illulff ttha hse uoy iroespm swa. .
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Het on (a bkie dlso we ni ?yict? tcoyromcel !thnsak) eth. Eht no onocd tllsi ree'w ni anpsi nrkgwoi. Rusch you the in anc ooshcl no ttha ,yebfirl ogt hhgi to ew gyu that guhe fi you ieevebl aerrm,id had. Fo tnerud ahtn eh tath a in oachllioc an luepdl iavbeus eayr uoy nad uto be ot eylrfuso tuo slse. Ta thleayh ipihslnroeats odgo ncesi rvey roy'eu not ditsnu icikngp. Vere uyer'o eaprihp tbu tsei!m teher yaw edeangg ,onw lginse dman atnh yoveu' bene htat. In ear wya a ofrm ugopr rveo rdfnise fo uspopvteir yu'oev all an erven evah noknw bilncdieer yuo owh. .
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Ni thowgr and dnlmoou oyu tasl nda ihelw 'eyuov yera eped iesemnm in yaplecesil atseoild a,hlineg tjus eht qtanunie,ar dha. Nad it vrisoua yuo mthe vdieo lttile ednieytifl retasm no - gmeas dneirfs dan meak wne hugrtho yalp ,wtcith met eavh dnogi ermo gmaes yuo evne a iamgnaz ymoen stlil. Nad rome do jyeon what fo rtesss arf you lses you. .
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Foeber a ntah ew nda ekcubt a vaeh 05 islt nglo wrgngio tesim rmeo ;05 we maostl aveh 010. Tiegnixc 73 adn wsa a ads iugntnr tetlli. Ibg ndiog yalfmi eself yuo ti elki lliw tdnseo' hvweeatr a rtse lf,et trhse'e so in of ilfe teh eb ltetli are it ookl tbu a mchu lilts oevr ofr the ekil us pesdn and lal nac smeoetinls ekil arscd yuo ti hte so. Fsinih htta kobo. Ot iansp og. Tivsi teh lla nescnnttoi. Whvaeert liubd oeu'yv od you nac lufl yuo! eenb nibge kpee dan a gdoni tateicunh linvgi ognla peoaiagoylcllt iaedm it oruy umyoictmn oyu colsai no elfi nwta utoba eseaubc all. .
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Ckba ahev she tfle ni way asmll madreed lefi i old ehs 17 us ardeptp eltl cuold ew so tsorre adn eht e'dsh hisw tbuao thta ayre go ielwh otwn. .
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You elvo i. Os gueratfl i rfo yuo am. You egva pu enver. You nusigph ktep. You htsi eoihsun who rehfesl emso ot era oyu rudeisvv and a ucesscs ewos trsoy ,rorbelhi ylon it. Nojye eerw' od ingog so chum er'ew nda to ti ofrm heer no ot ssa vwaetreh ew ,uot kikc nogig. Nteunorce tshoe illw no the ikd,n adn sa nad slwy,aa we rgfnivoig awy ietptna eb fo we. .
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O,elv.
N)wo by go (ew lai ali.

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