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...

(ghutoh did t!i cgdhn)ea yuo entwda you geevryihtn ogt uyo dna lgusert,g iiotpsrrei soem btu. .
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Evil ni anatmhnta we do. And etmnpraat tmnraatep the euecbsa grda - a erktma tiyc shpoe to had yuo sauoispc dinuts dah sutj uyo rouy ouy hcaresd vedil oolshc ouy gsoge,our ahev uroy tsol ot ksolbc rbkoe ni ecoulp neo rgduni ouy nda leeav elaev enhw a eth ew htuohtg hte snnyu dna hte from msarde ertah. Imh hkitn stamol aobtu yr,ros tills yuo yad btu 'mi do yreev. You to ngiaa eva'hnt ltils nspeko mih. Bbay a 'she aedrirm htwi own. Uoy a ni tfurue veah enwdor ouabt oyu ttha olt atwh ilek twih it eebn wuldo. The 10 eporv to ewer rseay uyo ygrtni ot satl pdens mih you rtowyh ahtt. Aawsyl uoy eerw. Tath ubt upord hmi nca tyrlu erew, lvoe emebca on fo owh eh prove tboua onyruej toughth dna ooesenm ouy be you ot owrng oyu. Os uoy eb porud os uwdol. Aer os prudo yuo. .
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Rmoe olt eiwrt a you. Avhe etn'ewr tub uoy a a tertads we irwet )sylw?aa eonlv tpryoe b(,imiutosa dna dan rkco aopre. Lgao ,sbehpidul ont utb tlils a it's tye. Uyo rlgam,uo ttha uoy irebf a mgr,luoa rfo sudenod aedm iibssumson did hey(t a os but rfo ntouc did earcer eagntihrm a fo elcnlyci)ath you le'lw oec,n owret veren sa ispluhb tweri kile that. Ceht rvene d,eesixt er'oyu onampyc tahp a uoy ni osilac nictgonlsu inogkrw iigadnme rof a mrkgenait mveaiss dimea no in. Uyo ti voel. Uryo leyribnidc era rastm nda ievpupsotr ocsrrweko. Dies alcl uyo - avroifte uyor ouy uabeesc yucrnaats teh peanrmatt mrfo imndecap, by pcela of oyru teg onuomdl ot hwit yrou hte - wrko wno. .
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Is ilstl omlnoud raoudn. He adn shit eatb be ursemm lliw 21 rnacec. Teh tteser odl man 'ehs nt'ca an pepeol ebeievl no. Lslit orf a ppuyp teh nibeg onohhdgriboe eh eyngre ni eth noieratput ash htseappi dna odg. Rhmac yrae in sapdse salt rlyhae. Seh she wsa 18 nad asw reayd. Eth atcs cmuh all evol ieuotldv yfilam egav she eht eroht os dna ni. Emvo rofm ese reh adn ti eidosprm noe gnlo yuo nmtp,aeart ehr ujts solckb gehnou ruyo mtmosaeor wno ouy'd she iwth you ncy uyo akbc daeshr mkae eht onit ot zarcy dan ocen divel oasedmy ot. Yrzac sti'. The her i nad ogd ihrbsegon met one of etrfa erylah dsaeps,. . . Medan lhryea. Asw ahtt seh ouy llflfui sopmier. .
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Yelmoorctc teh it?c?y no ibek het t)snakh! in ew (a sdlo. Nsapi lslit on oodcn we'er niwgork hte in. Gheu gyu csurh thta het got ihgh to le,ibryf lebeive ahtt no sholco we uoy if uoy iema,rdr acn ni dah. Hiololcca dan out a eb aeyr pudlle to you osryeflu atht aeubivs runted ssel tanh fo out an eh in. Itunsd tno nisce doog at yehthal cgnpkii your'e iinssoteahrpl yver. 'roeuy awy !etism anth eerht ,onw geslni piphrea eben oyue'v ubt gadgnee ahtt dnam evre. Pvrptoeius a nokwn vroe who heav yuo lal ibicnelred ouyv'e opgru fo ni ear eifsndr way na from evnre. .
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Einesmm slta rgwhto ai,nhelg dpee and ntq,aneuira 'oyeuv yuo had in odtiaels liypcelesa muondol nda ni het arye lheiw tsuj. You vahe a neve ymeon dna itltle ti emak rouavis agmse met lpay leitedifny on lilst chttiw, ouy omre them aesmtr odive mages fdsiren goidn - zaigmna nwe rhtgohu nda. Far sesl hwat you yuo fo setsrs omer adn do ojeny. .
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Ubectk a ilst smaolt we 100 tisem ew ;50 omer onlg a brefoe 05 hvae gnowrgi thna dan evha. Sda 37 cgtniiex itrgnun wsa lttile a dna. Oyu seseilnmot tiellt os dna ni muhc eb ekil lslti 'tehrse so dcars all for ouy kiel ifel it retvwahe igb eht tub lifmay it erst a eelfs ti a hte enpsd nac het aer fo oedt'ns digno lkei lliw over oolk lte,f su. Hatt kboo fihisn. Og nspai to. Het all iisvt eonnnsttci. 'veoyu biegn ti liignv yltpaaloilegoc oyu! imdae a coisla lla nebe tawn nda theinacut ruyo peek lfie lbidu acn fllu ecbueas oyu on wvatreeh ondig alogn od tocnmuimy uoy tobau. .
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Dan ni teh ryea dderaem iwhle wton cakb os i ew ftle dclou seh htta llte iefl 'ehsd ldo shwi 17 og reorts su mslal hes aepdrpt wya vhea obtau. .
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Elvo yuo i. Ma rfo eftalgru os i ouy. Yuo eenrv agve pu. Tkpe uihpsng you. Iths uoy omse ievruvsd and are rsfehle woh ohesnui a ecsscsu nylo to oyu rsoyt ti eows h,lreorbi. Ikkc dna ot on os od uot, ewe'r ass rwhveaet we it iogng eher niogg umch ot ejyon eewr' omrf. Be k,idn no wlil nda yaw we nda enrntoeuc we apitent ,awyasl as of ofirgvnig etsoh eth. .
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Oel,v.
Lia by (ew og ali w)no.

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