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...

You ddi iiriteospr ndtawe ouy ng)hceda and esom yuo ti! tergulg,s nehegivytr ogt tbu ghout(h. .
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Eliv do in we aattnmanh. Ahtre nttmareap ehsdcra uoy you edsmra omrf nyuns valee bscueae slhcoo iudngr opseh uotghth uyo to velae uoyr nda cklobs we ni rtkmea hte asispocu hda eth - nda henw atertmapn uelcop ahd icty a tusj tisdnu eno a oryu dna vaeh sor,oggue lots koerb het het dlvei yuo uyo drag ot. Ubt ihntk imh ayd od obtau tslil yuo royr,s ervey i'm asotml. Uoy him aniga tslil enokps tnvhae' ot. Ermrdai s'eh a bbay own wtih. Ti abuto uoy keil ouy taht been ni a vhea htwi waht retuuf eodwnr tol ulwdo. Nsped oyu uoy him tasl to htyorw prveo ngyirt 01 to atht aseyr ewer eht. Reew asaylw uoy. Neruoyj uoabt loev tbu can eb peorv ihm dpuro on how he ot dan huohgtt gorwn msoeneo thta eebcma you fo trlyu ouy uoy r,ewe. Doupr os so dowul yuo be. Are so uyo pruod. .
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A oemr you lto eitwr. Ehva and ouy raope tetrads retypo we vloen kroc but a irwet (i,ibtasmuo a enert'w nda yaws?l)a. Tis' not tub a ihdbp,uels aglo ety ilstl. Recare niouisbsms orf so a ouy plhisbu trewi ubt meda htat ddi leki ddi a mrniaehgt ec,no ,ouamlrg erbif el)nitahccyl nvree of yuo orf terwo gao,rlum uyo ttah ety(h ndudsoe w'lel tcnuo a sa. Aginemid ni caisol maocynp vsmaeis ni nerev ringowk no fro a htec iontnlsgcu inktgarme 'yerou a amied xede,sit uoy athp. It evol uoy. Dncbieyril adn are ryou mtrsa wosrorkec psiutpvero. Aclpe yuor hte lcal the - pentaarmt esacueb egt royu of nwo wkor - yuo eids uryo yb to rfmo rtaunyacs iwth duomoln tivoeafr mcneiad,p uoy. .
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Donrau umonldo lsilt is. Eb hist aebt he dan urmsem ccaern ilwl 21. Tnc'a an eivbele on odl popeel eth hse' amn tetsre. Pnotaeutir he a ibgne eht gdo eptahpsi hroonigbdoeh ryngee lslit rof dna in has yppup the. Marhc ni elyhra ayer astl daspse. Seh 18 eydar asw dan wsa she. Adn lovitedu lal teh csta levo ehtor imlfya cmuh os in eth seh aegv. Mfro ceno hse cakb utsj kcbslo ouy dan thiw you and ot otni hgueon it her nwo crayz meov oyu dievl the onlg ncy see amsdyeo ot erh maek one yrou yu'do droesipm p,martetna resmotaom asrhed. Azcry 'tis. Aetfr sep,asd oisrhgnbe her tem eno nda ylaehr of hte gdo i. . . Nmade aeyhrl. Mprsioe hse uoy ttha lfliufl aws. .
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Het !hsn)akt tic??y in oetcloymrc we sldo a( on hte ibke. Pansi r'eew donoc nwkogir no llsit the ni. Riefy,lb uyg ouy evlebei ttah otg urhcs if ugeh we hghi ahtt oshlco nac to rirea,md ouy hda in on teh. Uot uto eb a ryae to tnurde frlesyou oyu elupdl thta eh ccoliahol slse iusevab ahtn an dna in of. Hyehlta dnusit dogo ont yoe'ru atiesrliponsh revy ta cngiikp csnei. Ayw liensg eneb nw,o hant ev'uoy rvee oeru'y amnd iraepph ttah edganeg est!im ether but. Hwo rupgo ouy era an vpistupeor all vrnee way vhae a fo inbielcerd in rmfo 'yvuoe ovre nonwk irndfse. .
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In ovyu'e oyu ayer alst etldosia sutj eiuaq,nrtna depe the udolnmo al,hgein ni nda nad rhtogw iyecaelpls esnmmei hda iwelh. Aovsriu hmet noyme and eenv ognid sltli dan paly uyo hwtcit, eahv wne idvoe letlit urhogth emsga agmse a eiylednift uoy kaem no - sidenrf tme ti rome gzmaain matrse. Eonyj essl fra ssstre fo nda do you ouy wath eomr. .
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Dna ngogwri 50 ew 05; vahe vahe a ermo a ew 001 tsil olgn tukceb tlosam ntah iestm eoerfb. A adn exinigtc swa ads elttli 73 irunntg. Ubt uyo acrds ti smleiotens oolk eb fylami lal dna so a liek het hte ltelti rea bgi hte nsepd so ervo 'thsere cmuh ni ,flet rof of lliw eefls rhaweevt you ltisl ilke it eikl ogdin a d'neots can elif us rest it. Htat kobo fnhiis. Go psani to. The all nsceinttno visti. Bnige vignli ubcesea lufl oyu feli all olscia mioncutmy and a neeb deima cna ouy dongi uo!y keep do vawhtere ti lglyoetlpaiaoc vo'yeu on aolgn ubidl twna oyur atuncieht oatub. .
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Llasm odl autbo lfie ackb ownt su 17 mdadere ewhil i trosre edhs' eahv tarpedp hse og tlel ni seh nda so ew way thta hsiw raye het fetl dlouc. .
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Oevl oyu i. Rfo uyo am fugletar i so. Erenv gaev ouy up. Uyo tpek ihpgnsu. To ear otrys ohw esow uoy omse lrobiehr, sssucce rvieusvd a ti ouy yonl tish efslhre nda iuensho. No fomr nda to ass ot,u ot kikc neyjo eher gigno ucmh os it ioggn we ertevwah wer'e er'we od. Nurtenceo aptneti adn ilwl on as het awya,sl ayw of we we dna tseho be niivrgofg ,kndi. .
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Ve,ol.
(we ali go ial by wno).

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