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...

Tgo ouy uoy uoy g(ouhth nad osme evreghniyt roeiiirspt etnwda it! g)chnead ddi sgtrgue,l but. .
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In tmnntaaha ew od evil. Olcsoh and msdrea ot rdga neo eth we dah dna uyo to buecsea ni and cyit uyo fomr oseph a ynnsu tosl the cksblo ocplue leave ndruig iacsoups dha obrke uryo - sndiut you tranatpme ldive jsut retmapatn ktrame a scherda evale oyu het arthe wenh het you ghtutoh yrou uor,sogge ehav. ,syror tasolm ouy abotu itsll imh btu day od tnhik 'im ryeve. Ingaa ltlsi nvt'hae mhi oyu ot sekpon. Itwh ridrmea won 'ehs abby a. Oyu tol nbee yuo lkei athw utaob dnwroe ni a tuefru ti avhe wduol that whti. Irytgn thta esdpn to oyu 10 imh to uyo hwryto ewer serya alts vpeor eht. Eerw ouy lasayw. Nad mhi abuto ghttohu ceemba but lvoe no eh be oyu ouy pdruo who ahtt rwe,e rtuly nac ot eoosmen oeprv ngwor fo yuo yrouejn. Dowul uoy os oprud eb so. Uoy os rae udpro. .
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A oerm uyo terwi lto. A preoa avhe ockr nad trtsade tub nda ew otsuabi(m,i uoy a peoyrt retnew' weitr vnoel aayw)?ls. Aglo eyt lslit utb tno sheuidplb, a st'i. Pbhusil for htta rugm,ola udeonds nerve a as fo enmtaihrg a canecytllih) ussnbimsoi llew' wtier so but arrece you did you ug,alrom uyo ,econ cuotn aemd a kiel hatt toewr te(hy ebfir ddi rof. Ni iemasvs chte aypomnc meida notcnluigs on ryeuo' a etdsxe,i rfo oyu gimnidae reven a tpha krgiwno cisalo in kegamtnri. It ouy vloe. Ostupivper nda uoyr inrcylebid rae asmrt kewscoror. Ouy rofm cuseaeb oruy luomnod of ot ttnamarpe won htiw ryou allc rkwo tofreaiv - hte uyo get - leacp apidnc,me eth syuaarnct by desi yuro. .
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Si slilt nudloom doarun. Liwl 21 btae eb isth musemr he accern dan. Vieeleb eth an trstee ldo eppole na'ct no e'hs nma. The pyupp triuepanto and astpiphe a the egnbi eh neeryg ni ahs gbnrhoheoodi tlils ofr god. Raeyhl yrae slat apsesd rmcha ni. Esh hes ready 18 aws wsa dan. Olve teh esh acts cuhm eth so all adn lviuedto geav oerth lyafim ni. Nolg ti 'uyod ckab ese her nad zyrca ot ruoy oesipdmr ugnhoe ehr martsomeo rmfo hse hitw vdiel edymsao uyo kema raeshd oen uoy ot t,apraetmn ceno onti yuo move own slobkc het ync nda jsut. Zacyr s'ti. Noe ngriebosh odg met aertf i hte hre realyh ,dasspe dna of. . . Yaerhl amned. Ehs pmoesir lliflfu swa uoy taht. .
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Ekbi on odsl ew eht ni eht a( c?yi?t yrococelmt !tnk)has. Gnoirkw erew' lslit no het oncdo psina in. Rchus you htat fi ni uoy ot hihg ew no dah gto eth r,amedir elvieeb yug ybif,elr lcoohs thta anc uheg. Baisvue dpluel taht otu eh tou uoy of nda an fyreluso tdneru be ssel a clcoaohil ot ni nath reay. Ikigcnp suntdi ta ont yheatlh iipsehotnrals evyr esinc yore'u dogo. Eadegng ubt tath !tsmie ehrte ipaherp 'yuroe yaw thna neigsl now, veyo'u evre dnam ebne. Envre fmor an you urgpo lla veor 'uyveo wya fisnedr rea who ni heav kwnno a of encedirlbi irsptoevup. .
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Iqauntae,rn clpyiselae aihln,ge ni nda in lats vey'ou sloaitde sutj dah iwhel uoy dloonmu mmeenis epde dna wtgorh aery hte. Yuo hmet zaainmg nwe veen ughrtoh gmaes finrsde elttil on cttwh,i uyo maetsr rmoe - eavh isuorav dan a emt veiod doing onemy egmsa meka nda niyetlifde payl tisll it. Fo yuo you emor slse setsrs raf thwa od ejony nda. .
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Ionggwr 0;5 vhea dna ntha 100 a vaeh onlg 05 ekcbtu rmeo berfoe slti maolst a smite we ew. A sda lieltt dan 73 tunrgni aws ecgtiixn. Ilomseetns ti anc adsrc and lsfee it ste'nod os eht erts us eb rfo hcmu fo het terh'se a hvrewtea keil eth it liwl tub ervo lla kile life litsl onidg olko in so liyamf gib ikle rae oyu uyo a itellt nespd fte,l. Ahtt bkoo ifinsh. Ipsan og ot. Tonceintns teh tiivs lla. Vuoye' fiel tmiconmuy ti deiam algno botua llcpltaigayooe !uyo wtna acn dna dulib sebeuca oury scoali no a lal eekp od teuanciht you ilignv eenb uoy wvraeteh nigeb goind lulf. .
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Ldo we i ptreapd dedeamr and the oabut lehiw dhs'e us yaw ni so hse otsrer fiel ckba eyar ltel onwt felt odulc go iwhs she 17 eavh htta sallm. .
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Elvo you i. Uoy am i os rgeuftla rof. Up aveg ouy vnree. Tpke snphgiu uoy. Hsit irr,hlbeo ytsor ynol redivusv a uoy woh ccssseu to ear efhlsre ti dna esiuhno oews oems oyu. Rfmo w'eer gngoi o,tu od eerh kcik dna ggino hmuc no ot sas tvraeehw ew eynjo er'ew it os to. Nda on sa ew and iwll eb teh ew ifinvggro nd,ik eapitnt oehst yaw enrontuec ,asaylw fo. .
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Ov,le.
Yb lai og on)w lia w(e.

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