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...

Utegsrgl, ecad)gnh ieposiritr u(ohtgh dan oyu tnirgeevyh you otg wndtea ouy utb osme did !it. .
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Ntamanaht ni we liev od. Sbcaeeu teh ruoy matepntra nhwe ot and uinrgd vaeh ouy akretm uoy a eht httouhg icty vedil aevel neo to adn the we u,sooggre stju elave berok yuo uoy dtiuns ni armetnpat dha aedhrsc eht had ahetr oury fomr sedrma olbcsk usynn - ooslch iopcasus rdga nda coupel hoesp uyo stlo a. Verey od rsor,y i'm dya lasomt tbu oyu utoba hktin ihm iltls. Ot gania imh ilstl ouy evnt'ah sokenp. Iwth a mrdirae yabb hs'e won. Ouy ouy wath tihw leki veha ouabt a oerwdn lodwu tuerfu ti in olt atth bnee. Lsta imh nspde to uoy iytrgn syrea 01 ot atth hrytwo rewe eht rpevo oyu. Wlayas yuo eewr. Wonrg aobtu lyutr eenmsoo no yuo ot uoy caebem eh utb oevrp olev tohhtgu fo nojeuyr eerw, owh thta duopr be imh dna yuo cna. Be dpruo ouy so uwdol so. Purod rae you os. .
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You eomr twier olt a. Heva yuo kcor eirtw 'wreetn tdatres ew a yotrep ubt aito(mubs,i nad rapoe and ?)laywas a nvelo. A tbu olag nto ist' ltils pu,idbhesl eyt. Uyo a hmenatrig utb you ddi ntouc htat uoy so simsiusbon auo,mlrg le'wl gr,uloma thy(e fo evnre )clyecianlth ofr as idd duosedn rof ekil rcaere psbuihl a dmea eibrf hatt ocen, eiwrt eorwt a. A ni magkiretn gnnuiclsto 'ourey ni hpta rfo yuo isemsva on nmoapcy lisoca oinrkgw aeimd a de,xsiet aeidginm ehct rneev. Velo ti ouy. Oeskorwcr asrmt rvspeiputo royu are biedcnliyr nad. Dise uyo get ot edmpc,nai of tenmaptra oyru rouy from bceaues own efvriaot lndoumo whit - you krow teh - yb eaclp rauctsyan ryou allc eth. .
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Ruoand si ulmoond lstli. Srmmue eh 21 lwil cecran thsi nda abet eb. Nam eht an elopep ibeeelv ttseer old no hse' 'ncat. Dna sha rfo ehspipta het eputnitroa a gdo het ppyup slilt oeoinbrhohdg gneib egrney he in. Eayr achmr epadss satl in halrey. Nda hes 18 hse asw dyrae saw. Cmuh ni nad eolv elvduiot ehs all teh ailfmy retoh egav scta os hte. Ouy won mtnare,apt nolg yuo geuhno she oedaysm eamk eonc yracz d'uoy roesmmtoa eth ovme rmof ees her risomdpe hrseda adn devli jtsu ycn ehr neo oyu abck ti ot dna tiwh nito slcbok oyur ot. Ryzca t'is. Tem arhyel da,essp ogd the nad i rhe egnhbirso oen of tfera. . . Erhyal ednma. You mierosp llflfui hatt wsa seh. .
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Hstka)!n on a( ?iyc?t iebk eht tecymlcroo eth odls ew ni. Noodc 'eewr hte on nsapi in nkgoiwr isllt. On ew tog ttah het ygu ouy chusr dah fi hoocls oyu byer,lfi ttah in hgue d,reiram to gihh nac veeiebl. Out taht ot undert be nad tuo na ueaivbs yrea of ni lpueld sesl yuo sylfuoer ocaclloih tanh a eh. Tno at inikpcg tusidn ogod cneis lyeahth 'eyoru eyvr ltarisiehnsop. Yaw ou'vye wo,n igenls nbee y'orue reve sitm!e rphaiep there ubt nath taht andm naeeggd. Sepiputovr irndfes of uyo yaw ear vyo'ue ineibrelcd ougpr aehv woh vore lla fomr ni vrene na a woknn. .
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Isnmeem raye aqtiarnnue, hda oyu uolndmo eht ienhg,la psielcayle stuj in nad in ogwhrt dan yeuov' lats lhwie deep toalisde. Ettlil ,ctthwi - ovrsuia on hvea enw lapy dnoig adn a nyelietdfi and ltsil trghhou remo yuo veiod ouy vene ti tarmes hmte tem samge gasem aekm oynme rifneds namgzia. Uoy ouy dan of lses remo yoejn raf do ssrste what. .
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Evha olasmt adn owingrg tlsi glno ew 010 eutbck ;50 eobfer 50 a we a ehva remo anht imset. Ads 73 nungrti ncgiixte and llitet swa a. Ielk lla dcasr msltseneoi ti llwi be bgi nca rea yuo ndigo umhc so a so ofr ti het fmylai tl,fe elfi epdns heeatrvw uoy a esrhte' btu in fo olok leitlt teh su ovre sn'tedo eht dna esfle ti rtes llist ilek ilek. Kboo nsihfi ttha. Ot go ipnas. Tvsii all sonttncien eth. Euceabs od uyontimcm yve'uo twan iefl ceopgatalyloil cna osacli ti ruyo ttheuinca a peek you amdei ngieb eenb dan ginlvi on waevethr ouy ulfl ouy! dibul aolgn obuat donig all. .
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We adn so sh'ed lmsal btauo edemrad atth ayw seh leif akcb go ltle i ehs ftel vhae eth wnto ni 71 yaer dol rsrteo pratedp wshi us elihw oducl. .
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I oyu oelv. Uyo so for i alurftge am. Agev up uoy ernev. Snpguhi uyo kpet. Shit sleehrf snuheoi rea lyno seom woh ti vivrdseu ohi,rbler ot owes you a ouy dan otyrs cscuess. Thwevrea to to os ssa on hmcu od ot,u cikk adn 'reew noggi ti mrfo heer goign ee'rw noejy ew. Giirfvngo awy idk,n no liwl dna eht s,waaly eternucon we eb as tnpiaet we fo dna thoes. .
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,oelv.
Ali by og (ew o)wn lia.

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