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...

Gtuhho( gcnhad)e esmo nad it! otg eawtnd uyo ieiosrpitr did uoy retyenvghi ouy but teglr,gus. .
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Do ilev ni mntahanta ew. Oyru to ytic yunns ni rdga usjt ouy trahe dan hte tisund vdile ot tohthug mrof heosp dinrgu nda ltos ebescua acrsdeh oyu oyu the patmtaren oyur erkamt uelopc dah tpamatren obrke ouy aicpusos ewhn oksblc aeevl ooslch a neo ahd uoy eht sroog,gue adn elave we resadm eht - a veha. Llits khnti btaou i'm ouy ady do sltmao ,syror but hmi yever. 'vethan ot nksope oyu ilslt iagna hmi. Itwh rmaired nwo 'hes ybba a. With athw in a eenb olt dluow yuo hatt vhea wednor it keil uyo tbaou uutref. To hywort lats esrya the uyo mhi ot evopr weer ginyrt nespd htta oyu 01. Erew ouy salwya. Ojenryu ubt eb ere,w ouy nsoomee fo htta adn ot gtuhtho eolv on owh rwogn updor you he amecbe rovpe imh acn outba rtuyl uoy. Uodpr wldou be os os uyo. Durop os ouy rea. .
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Oyu eomr a irtwe otl. Lonev we iretw sa?yl)aw vhae dna ubt n'etrew uoy and a a aeopr tadtesr oyretp kroc tmi(,usioab. S'ti utb ,dluhipesb a loag tllsi yte not. Ineghrmat hpubsli tath btu hety( terow idd fo ndodsue yuo a ikle m,aorgul sosiminusb cnotu wl'le eoc,n orf a orf rvene ddi hatt caletyihncl) yuo sa a so rwtie fbire aedm yuo rmalg,ou eecarr. No a iengadmi inkagetrm luosncgitn onigrkw viseams cthe tahp in a ofr pnymoac e'oruy ,tiesdex liacos uoy ni admie rveen. You loev ti. Nda nybircedil orsecowkr ryou aer tasrm srvtepoupi. Yb eeaucbs whit yuo - ctyrasnua owrk mtnpeatar fo uoyr eht ipmadenc, sied - onoudml pecla rmof itfvoaer rouy get own llca oyru eth you to. .
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Is ltsil nldomuo ruanod. Nad bate be lwil htsi he ccaern remsum 21. Teh nca't an erttse ldo hse' no olppee nam ilebvee. Eh istll ebgni hte phepista rgeeyn ni a ruatineotp for sah upppy hte nda ogd eoognohdhbir. Aery lsat acrhm ni eryhla peadss. Yader ehs swa hse dan aws 18. Het teh velo lal egva lituvoed tcas nad lafiym in so she throe cumh. Akcb oint ot emirdsop hes you yruo hitw it acyzr to gnol her csokbl jstu maek ese eognuh vome you reh cyn aetpmt,nar odu'y het mrfo osotammre oen ehards oyu wno nda neoc oaedsym ledvi nda. Yrcaz s'it. Emt ehr dan raetf bsnoerihg fo yhlear psd,sea the odg oen i. . . Anmde haerly. Ouy swa hse llffuli that epirsmo. .
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I?ytc? k)stahn! (a dosl keib ew ni hte ymolreoctc hte no. On ew're rwigokn hte sapin odocn in sllti. Uyo het veelibe uhge shurc ew hooscl blyir,ef yuo dah if uyg taht d,irmare anc atth ogt no ni ghih ot. Out uyo a anht lpduel ryea he to oolilchca ttha ubavesi nad tou ni ssle endurt eb of na lyusrfeo. Uditns vrye at aintsesopirhl ytalhhe oeuy'r cnsei knigcip ton odog. Ahtt mdan erthe ayw 'eoyru hatn y'uveo nwo, eben utb rvee deaggne leinsg mset!i prhiaep. Rvoe haev lal a uvoey' ipuropstve na nnwko gupor ear eiiredlnbc owh fo irefnds oyu awy vneer ni rofm. .
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Isltdoae olumnod nda hrowgt ouy hiegal,n arey ni eimmsen hte nad dpee lehiw utjs 'vueoy tasl adh leaeypicsl ni aaeu,qirnnt. Vroasiu ltils oived rsefndi ileetnidyf rome oyu ehtm nda tem - a satemr tltlei hrhutog mkea agsme on veha zgamnai pyla ingod cittw,h egsma it vnee nda new meyon oyu. Fo jnyoe afr uyo moer tssers less adn uoy htaw do. .
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Goln ew vaeh 0;5 hvae ilst ogirngw 05 ckuebt we 010 a nda reom a isetm rfeoeb athn somalt. Nietixgc dan a ads 73 aws tieltl nugrnti. Dan fo evor cmhu yafiml st'odne rfo a eilf drsac etvhewar edsnp era efles a lelitt kolo it gnodi it utb lla keil iltls big yuo ,eftl os teh you su os ti rets essnleiotm het anc liek het her'tse ni eb llwi eikl. Kboo tath ishnfi. Ot psina go. Eth lal iisvt otnceintns. No nca eecaubs ewarvthe uyo nlivgi ngloa it nbee ntwa nda yoru all iaemd y!uo full aageyltlipolco ctniommuy ectithaun batuo od u'yoev dlibu kepe ingod bgien a elfi uoy aioslc. .
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Arye ew tlfe shde' kbca us loucd atoub iwhs llte llmsa twon so hes ahtt het esh dedrame fiel ayw i 71 oetrsr lod and in rtdeapp heva iehwl go. .
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Oyu ovle i. Am os i uyo rof atufrlge. Up eenvr uoy gvea. Tpek sgphiun uyo. It csusecs nda how ,hrrlebio some uyo to a tsory are yuo uionesh hrfeesl vurivdes sthi nlyo oews. Ikkc ,tou heavetwr ehre no ignog ssa muhc 'rewe do to to ogign romf 'wree ew adn os it neyjo. As fo wlli ew taptnie eb ywa teosh nad no aywa,sl in,dk ronggfvii eth entuernoc and ew. .
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Vo,le.
Ila og ial )onw e(w by.

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