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...

C)eahngd tglreu,sg got idd eosm yuo you oiirpetrsi you adn heievtrygn edtwan t!i utb uh(thog. .
.
In ievl we do antnahmta. Hespo avhe metanartp ouy yuo iaspusoc hte whne oyu peatmtrna rnduig your osoclh uohtght sermad oebkr ucbesae lvaee teh unnys lidev we uesgg,roo to ktrema and hda eht to oruy uoy tsol dah nda eon ahret a in - rdag ouy edhasrc from bclkos a tnuisd lpueco icyt nda het jsut aleev. I'm lltis do mih tub ithnk eervy tauob asmtol uyo yad or,rys. Ouy aniag ent'hav to him ekonsp itlls. Now hwti a s'he mrrdaie baby. Ni wrnoed hitw yuo uoy lkie dlowu it eben tawh thta a ahve lot utabo rteuuf. Ot eprvo ysear yuo girytn yohrtw to pnesd reew teh lsat ihm 01 you ttha. Yuo ewer saawly. Ylutr woh oelv he cna uoy tbu on weer, verop cabeem be of oupdr ubaot nryjoeu to wgrno eesmoon uhgotht that ihm uyo uoy adn. So would be os upord ouy. Era os durop yuo. .
.
Olt roem eiwrt you a. Tmb(iosiua, dan pyrteo srtadet rtwei a dan aaw?ys)l avhe ouy ew orck netewr' levno but ropea a. Otn yet ti's a hebpsl,diu tlisl tbu galo. Taht uoy ofr o,nce orf did did rceear doednus yai)llnthcec as bsimissnou a reenv fo eowtr eamd ellw' you uoy ey(th iubsphl so but otcun fbeir a ,goaumlr emntahrig ahtt tewir a kile orma,ugl. Atph uoy ni a thce ngrmeikta exdie,ts imenigda uocitgsnln a rneev wnogrki e'oury aievssm saciol anmcpoy rfo no in deima. It vole yuo. Dna royu erylbdicin aer ertpupvsoi srecokwro stmar. To uyo ryou teh esid uoldonm nrmeattap fo - peacl gte rcaaysunt - teh you pcame,nid yb oyru ovtafrie allc mrfo wno hwit eseabuc oryu wkor. .
.
Illts dnaour si noluomd. Rncaec eh be dna htsi smrume taeb wlil 21. An eebveil epeolp old eht catn' e'sh sretet man on. Bengi ooehgihdorbn puppy ni tntaiorpue a ltils ash hte ptehisap ernyeg eh odg teh nad ofr. Stla in armhc yarelh sasepd yrea. Swa aedry ehs 18 she saw dan. In all iymlaf mcuh dan torhe vaeg levtduio scta eth vloe het she os. Ot ot kmea own uyo reaosmotm whti oamyeds bcak yod'u het oen zyrca vilde ti lgon vemo tartme,npa nda hes rhe peiromds juts nito nad losckb seradh cny ogeunh yuo ese ryuo you onec her omrf. 'its yzarc. Sep,das neo nda dog ihebnorsg i her reylha fo tem eth ftare. . . Admne hlreay. Yuo ahtt seh swa spmoeir ufllifl. .
.
Ebik a( ldso k)!ahsnt ew hte ni it??yc on teh cmclreytoo. Pansi rewe' ni lslti no oncdo wnorikg teh. On hlcsoo urhsc uhge hhgi that leveebi eth anc uoy ot htat rderm,ai dah guy uoy ni flier,by fi tgo ew. Fo atht tuo netdur dplleu iollchaco isauveb be you na hatn ruysfleo and a ssle yrae tou in eh ot. Nuisdt ueyor' icnes hhyalet vyre at nicgpki godo not ieshstaiopnlr. Rthee dnam t!mesi n,wo nhta aeiprhp nebe eevr reyo'u linseg ttha e'vouy way utb adnegeg. Yuo all konnw fo haev ogrup ueov'y vpsriupote an in erevn are rove a eiidlnberc woh snifder rfom ayw. .
.
Lcyipleesa aa,tninruqe you in pede in adn dlmunoo oeldsati orwgth iehlw teh eray yv'oue dan jtus g,lneiah dah inmemes atls. Maek yuo a nda - payl nmoey emt ti wen nogid usviroa eahv mero even gmase rohhgtu wihtct, ydltfeinei mtesra oyu edvio gamse aamgzni ttille sdifren hmte no ilstl nda. Oyu sserts essl yojen nad arf od htwa ouy fo emro. .
.
Oeferb orem rngwoig a 50; lngo we aevh and naht ehva tesmi we a 05 list etcbku samolt 001. Itllet tnxgciei and a wsa asd gitnnru 37. Milfay ft,le fo nac os stlli teh lla be look ti yuo a era esslmeoint like nepsd leik cmhu hte will no'dste iogdn su ouy rfo ifle seefl sret a acdrs re'hets nad igb eht vtehaewr tlteil so but ervo ti it klei ni. Koob sifnih tath. Og to asnip. Lal tvisi het istnecntno. !ouy peke salcio cmitnmouy bliud can unitaecht neibg btuoa ebne feli ufll no rtweavhe yuo anlog eascebu wnat do lal ilvign voue'y ti you adn a opagyllotceial dmaei rouy dgion. .
.
Hwsi mardede nda i ackb hes atth tlle su odlcu flte og yera she os drapetp eilf in alsml 'shde the rrtoes tauob 71 we have twon hiewl dol yaw. .
.
I yuo evlo. Uyo glfetaru i so am rfo. Up vgea reven uoy. Yuo ketp nhuspgi. Aer nad h,orbreil ot owh a srtoy uoy ti cuscsse you eoms olny svdrveui rsehelf weos huesnio tihs. Gogni tou, on do ass w'ree eerw' mhuc ot so romf ot we ggnio eehr oejyn ti nad hertewav kcki. Y,wslaa teh ew tncnoruee toesh piettna lwli fo adn be on we di,nk awy dan as niigrfvgo. .
.
Lo,ev.
Ali e(w lia o)wn by og.

This user has written an update to this letter.To see what they wrote, please

Press ← and → on your keyboard to move between letters

Write new comment

Load more comments