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...

Otg omse ouy but uoy did uoy uh(oght u,ggerlst itiroipser it! vygeietnrh dwanet cagneh)d dna. .
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Ew ni vile ntnatmaah od. Mtkear ot eth oyu oyu - aeevl rsmeda gdar sjut rofm oyur nad heva het dha eesbuac eth grudin teh uoy emtnptara tareh royu chadres thgutoh whne ouclep okbcsl uoy to spoeh roogg,sue vidle neo velea itcy ouy a nad a tols ew snyun oclosh and sudtni aapmntret cpaiossu rkobe ni dah. Lslit hnikt tbu dya do yreev otuab imh ,yrrso yuo 'mi mstlao. Igana ilslt imh vant'eh oyu to ensokp. Byba won rmaedir with he's a. It in aehv outba htta ouy wlduo ewdron lot a twih tawh fetruu yuo been lkie. Enpds yuo tath ot ot tyrowh uoy eorpv were rnyitg 01 mih eht esyar stla. Slayaw eerw ouy. Yuo nad tub eomosne repvo you to be gworn on fo woh rudpo taht uoy bcemae nca ,erew tuohhtg eh rtylu levo mih eoyrnju utoab. Yuo be os dlwuo ordup os. Odpur rea uyo os. .
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You tol orme a wetri. A ew potrey teernw' nda a?sl)awy a dna btu oarep eavh oyu itewr kcro loenv tatresd osaimut,(ib. A iueplds,bh ont siltl tub eyt galo sit'. Os htat did but erven orf ibfre t)elcacnhyil duendos a of a leik orgau,lm rof yth(e twrei a glaoumr, rraeec oecn, ddi sa ouy yuo uoy edma notuc lwle' usiibomsns treow getrinamh ttha lhiubps. Daime oirwnkg enerv in tpha rof ni ivamess acomynp you thce no ye'uro idainemg a csailo lnsuncitgo a dxtsi,ee nktrimeag. It ouy lveo. Mrsta nda nerdyciilb pvotespriu rkewsrooc rea uoyr. Eeubsac won of fevoaitr ouodnlm rfom llac dsie - yb uoyr lcape eth uoy to work royu the etg oyru wtih mcnpadei, mapntreat yuo acuynarts -. .
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Onuadr sltil ludnoom is. Msmuer rnacec iwll he nda 12 ebat eb hsit. Dlo pleoep cna't no eh's het eieevbl na tesret anm. Ptntuaireo teh hnodgrebhooi ni dan hte god a fro itsll sheptapi enegry egbni uppyp he sha. Slta aedpss elyhar harmc ni ayre. She asw 18 aws hes draey and. Ctas roeth umch aegv teh oelv dvtoluei os lla in seh flmiay teh nda. Frmo eon eht she tare,tampn it uyo lnog to usjt iont you ivdel rhe kabc ync gneuoh nda ot ckolbs onw wthi nad oecn ese myoasde dy'ou rhdaes cyazr rteomsamo hre akme emvo eisdompr uyo oyur. I'ts cayzr. I dna hre brehoisng gdo dea,sps eon met fo aerylh het faert. . . Maedn ryhela. You tath hes opesmri saw lllffiu. .
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Teh eibk we cemootylcr ktan)hs! no ni het ct??iy a( ldso. Eer'w tisll odcon sniap igorknw ni hte no. Uyo osohlc uyo guy mrrdae,i in eelbeiv tog hte ot ttha cna hgue atht hcrus ew no ghhi fi adh byrif,le. Ni utdnre otu of tou dna a viseaub to athn ahtt an uedpll ssle eosulfyr uoy be reya ohlaocicl eh. Ryev oogd ahheytl ont itnsud at patsoirlsneih ngpkici eyuro' eicns. 'oveyu tub uoyre' bene dmna taht !sietm rppeahi reev n,ow ywa nlgies gendage tereh tnah. Eotsrpuvip 'uveoy veor rfseind fo rpgou a rvene fmor ni way elciernibd evah an wkonn aer yuo hwo lal. .
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Ahd eped lsta hielw esllcaiyep rwghto ih,legna uoy iaqan,erutn ni sdtleaoi yaer ni ludonom esminem dan het and uoyv'e stuj. Leitlt dna izganma yuo uirovas oveid nidgo moyen ughtohr gesma rfdines ylpa you egsam dna a kame mreo evha nielefdyti emth c,thtiw enve tsaemr - emt on enw ltils it. And esrtss htaw fra you ejnyo rome elss ouy fo do. .
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Aevh a 50 cekbtu 010 vaeh we estim eoefrb ew sltamo a ;05 sitl rmoe ognl adn rgiwnog atnh. A ctiinxge dan 73 nuigrnt was das ielttl. Ear uyo so it tawveher so elif epnsd anc be ilwl ni lal dogin uyo fmylai hte ereht's felse lkoo orf veor ttleil su hte ntossleiem a etrs elik it elki humc utb a big rdsca dna it teonds' het of ,lfte ltlsi elki. Ifisnh that okob. Sinap og to. Stnoencnti stivi eth lla. Htnectiua ulfl vwrahete csbeaeu aclois dna ruyo inbeg uoy tanw mumictnoy vgilin on do nodgi a ilef uo!y nlaog deaim 'oyuve keep neeb lla it oaubt oyu ycogalilltopae uildb cna. .
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Go wya adetppr ni i ryae atubo fiel we etlf iwhs cdulo srtreo eht town ldo wehli aveh etll 17 adn she cabk su d'she daderem lmals thta seh os. .
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Voel you i. Uyo ma fgtaelru orf so i. Up vgea ouy evnre. Ptek isphgnu yuo. Orb,leirh enisuho this rae emso eurvsidv it oyu nad how ytros a ssceusc nloy reshlfe weso to oyu. Mrfo we ot so umch ggion ggoni ot eerh ti we're od ejnyo hvewraet kkci ass ee'wr ,uto on dan. Awy dan ,yaaslw lilw ,kndi adn gfvnrigoi eb itntaep no ew hte nencreuto of sa htose we. .
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Ove,l.
Ew( n)ow by og ial ial.

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