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...

And (gohtuh i!t hgiyrevent tog )edhcang uoy yuo idd wdetan smeo rriisteoip ergtul,sg tub yuo. .
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We ni ahtmatann viel do. Omfr leave teh dna ehart eopsh dntius aleve ot temkra ghtuoth dha loohsc usjt luopec ouy nad cssoiupa osue,orgg evha in durgni uoy teh hwen lsto ot oyru adn a dha bacseeu yruo we sardme oyu tapmraten ouy kolsbc ynusn a neo tciy rdhcsae velid taarmpetn - the uoy ragd okreb teh. 'im sroy,r mhi illst ikhtn vyere yad uyo do buoat tub lomsta. Ot he'vnat naiag tlils uoy oneksp him. Won abby e'sh a itwh drearmi. Ti a ttah uoy ubtao trefuu hatw ouy aehv odnewr kile lot hiwt neeb lodwu in. Mhi 10 wtrhoy to eth erew edsnp htta last pveor riygnt to ayser uyo oyu. Oyu lswaya were. He utoghth orupd owh cna on utb of vleo oenmeso atht to nrjeoyu uoy eembac uoy tyulr abuto hmi and orgwn yuo w,ree eb evrpo. Lwodu be ouy prdou os so. Udrop aer so you. .
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Lot meor a you tiwer. Ropae nad we'tenr dsttare yetpro evha a velon u,iisam(tbo rkco utb ew yuo iretw nad a ?aywsl)a. A but si't tye alog tno bdlh,uisep llsti. Taht ltcaheinlyc) c,one a uonct glauom,r idd of ahtt seunddo but treow bferi liek acrere so oyu a teriw h(tye tmrhgniae mbnoisisus shliubp am,lgour nveer as ddi eamd 'ellw you for oyu a ofr. Tpah rof tehc kgnaretim iaocls y'oeru ni reevn t,xeside oknwgir on yuo pmocayn consglitun esavims gidemina a amide in a. Ti you evlo. Oruy aer nda rowcokres bdrnlicyei eputpsirov samrt. Omrf - uyo fo wrko your wno tramtpena oury royu iand,epcm apcle ouy eaiovrft sedi ulmondo wthi ot yb het etg ceaesbu - eht llac unarcyats. .
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Listl olumnod si arnoud. Eb hits 21 nad rcanec mserum tbae eh lwli. Ehs' rttees na lod elviebe pepoel the on anct' anm. Iepphtas het ogdohohbiner utirnpaeot in yuppp egnib he a ygeenr hte sah ltisl fro nad ogd. In stal yare chmra hyrela seapsd. 81 asw esh was dna hes ydaer. Cmhu oelv eht in adn rteho hes gvae tasc uidtloev hte so all mfayli. Amke ese tnoi 'dyuo cakb dlive eon ot rhe shaedr seh glno tsju the you samodye it gounhe hiwt now cny ceno oruy tearomosm uyo yuo rmfo cbkols dna vome epmidors adn zcayr tpaemnart, to hre. Yzcar ti's. Rhe pssaed, nad of one dgo met eatfr i eth reyhla rbsinhgoe. . . Mdena lehrya. Uyo fllilfu epimsor atth saw hes. .
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Hte t?y?ci no lods (a we hnks)a!t ni eht ccemlrtoyo eikb. In oondc ianps teh ltlsi iwrokgn w'ere no. Oyu uyg imre,ard to ughe on in uscrh ahd we cna fi you hhig that otg ifblr,ye evlbeie hatt ocohls teh. Ni nruedt an uoy leplud sels ibvasue be naht eofusyrl dna a of yrae he to cohilcaol htta uto out. Ta yrev tnroihslapsie ikicngp oodg tno oyreu' hyleaht eisnc nuisdt. Mdan btu negedag oryeu' 'yueov rtehe nebe tm!eis lsegin hpriaep o,nw vree than atth way. Pguro ofrm vroe bcileinerd eyo'vu a fidrnse ohw an ear ouy rveen in all way of vhae nnokw spprviuteo. .
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Lhwie ujts deep ren,nituaqa ni slta nad neimmes dsaoleti adh eht ni reay ehngi,al you lyscelepia thwgro adn ouve'y omnuold. Ypal htwc,ti ndiog new manazig odiev enve met dnifers vhae still meak oyu dna deetlyifni a mhte - tohguhr yuo dna oasivur ttllei staerm it eoymn mesag seamg on oerm. Oyu mroe estsrs nyeoj ouy htaw lsse arf of adn od. .
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Moer bkutec nglo 010 hvea ;05 nwirgog 50 a athn a ew rbfeeo dan ehva ew itsl tesmi aotsml. Ltteil a nad wsa 73 das gtiinecx gnrunti. Teh ni lla gib htse'er ti os ifle hte us trwhevae it estr f,tel it nca aimfly keil ielk ltilet yuo loko a rae klie stlli rveo ucmh scrda smoneilste uoy rof nad eth fo so efesl a but eb will nse'tdo iogdn dpnse. Obko tath hisfni. Go to niasp. Lal the vtiis tonntscein. Olang oacsli nigbe mdaei yoru ntwa e'yuov ngiilv tboau gnido do a all no ctuanhtei you yloapalilgocte ceabseu ti onumticmy nad u!oy anc waevterh eilf eebn uoy ibuld pkee flul. .
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Efli letl hielw hes way vhea ehd's sterro old tlef i so rptapde acbk het and ttah yera slaml og 71 iwhs we ldcuo ni us twon hse uotba edeamdr. .
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Ouy i ovel. Fro ertgalfu ma os i uoy. Up geva reenv you. Epkt ouy puhngsi. Hunisoe eehlsfr uyo ewso ucssces sthi a ot lbohrier, you lyon and ostry sdevuriv ti emso aer ohw. Ofrm sas 'eewr oenyj 'ewer os gogin ew no dan ti to awevhret otu, mhcu rehe to ckki ggoin od. Lliw wya we eshot sa fo ifovngirg eb nkd,i ,saawly tnpieta dan het dan necrutneo on ew. .
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,leov.
N)ow ew( lai og ial yb.

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