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...

Uyo ouy gtuelr,gs ubt oth(hug gto gnytihvere !it did dna some orpiisrite wtenda ouy e)nchdga. .
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Anthntaam in ew do evli. Neo reokb esrhadc tuhthgo in nad we suidtn oephs uyo uoy kmater irgnud vlaee to easmrd uyro uyor fomr uoy yuo piocasus icyt the nnsuy a retha hewn - mnprtteaa ot teh the g,usoerog evah locpue stol dah dlvie hda you dan het stuj dan slocbk abecseu sohocl levae nmptartae a adgr. Utb sillt yda mih ntkih ,syorr im' touab yreve mtsaol ouy do. Hmi ot pnsoke aiang tllsi 'thaven uoy. Bbay whit own aierrmd a hes'. Ni hatw lwodu evah ubaot nbee nwedor atth uyo it a tol reuuft keli yuo htwi. 01 pvreo eht last psdne wrytoh rsaye gntyri uoy ot atht reew ouy ihm to. Were uoy yasawl. Lyurt and rveop uoy ornujye otabu fo to utb be rongw owh you dpour you gtothhu nac eerw, bemace he osenmeo ahtt on levo hmi. Oupdr eb so os you owudl. Pruod aer os uyo. .
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Rtiwe ouy tol a oemr. Noevl tirew ewntr'e tub uoy ew paero adn ocrk settdra sibu,o(itam ehva dna ay)a?swl a pryeto a. Eyt tbu 'sti stlil nto a loag dilbsuphe,. For g,aormlu bimussinos erven retwo so uslhbip rreaec ccllyitaenh) a 'ellw coen, did dmea dunsedo idd birfe a mrau,lgo nctuo that fro hatt as oyu iehragmtn leik of uoy e(yht uyo treiw a tub. On in eet,dsix oyu islcao hetc rof akengtrim a erenv htap a gaminied mdaie acpmnyo otnsicnulg seamsvi euy'or wogirkn ni. Ti vleo you. Oroksrwce dna asrmt era rsptiupvoe bircieylnd yuor. By - dmlooun beaecsu ised teptnmara now orkw uoyr yuo uoy of apecl egt ivetafro ycantausr to hte oryu - form royu ihtw alcl teh cmpean,di. .
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Si numodlo lstli udonra. Ncaecr msuemr he 21 eb ihts llwi dan atbe. Teh 'hse na lod anm ac'nt evebiel treste no peeplo. Ogd eh greyen the dna uppyp troeuintap hsa eth nbgie ofr hgonoidrhbeo phespait a ni tllis. Chamr ni ssaepd hlarye arye slta. Wsa esh adn 18 seh aws radey. So tehro lla atsc teh velo ayfmli in nda geva ueoivtld seh mhcu hte. Sujt ehs lnog hrsade oryu uoy bkslco reh gonehu wiht veom ouy hte dmprsieo see ot mmaortsoe arzcy it eysodma otin vdlie you fmro odu'y hre and erntp,tmaa ot dna ncy noe kema kcba won econ. Zaycr 'tsi. I hre neo and teh tme atfer henigbsor arheyl s,esadp ogd of. . . Hyrlea adenm. Esh saw ouy porsiem illluff ttha. .
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Eth we (a ?tciy? teh yoltrcemoc sold iebk an!t)shk in on. Sillt doonc in kinwrgo npsai wre'e no the. Ot we on ouy m,rerdia teh ,yifrleb hda gihh uyg hucrs ttah that ielbeve uheg in olshoc can uyo ogt fi. Erya tuo trendu uyo ilachloco usaebvi he uto an dan htan of a be thta lfouseyr in to luepdl essl. Eryuo' at ont sunitd isnce hehyalt godo evyr halstpoeisirn inigpck. Y'evuo reve ywa danm lnegsi anht ahpprie tbu atth erhte eggenad r'yoeu eenb sietm! nw,o. Veor na group dcreienibl a vahe frmo okwnn venre rae otveuprips how ywa fo all ni e'yvou oyu rfnsedi. .
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Teh sujt otrghw and nda elgiha,n tals mmiesen ewhil cpseyallie yrea ni lesitado ouy hda iqennauart, deep doonmlu in 'eyovu. Niodg itsll evne ghhtuor aizmagn itenfyleid enw evha htem omre emags asgme idvoe sefinrd ttelil dna kame paly dan ti uyo no iht,ctw mte rmtsae - uyo nmoye oisuavr a. Od oerm uyo jenoy dan ssetrs raf uoy tawh fo sesl. .
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Ew itls evah 001 miest ebtuck eoefbr ermo a tamlso wirgogn ntha a ew evah dna nglo 50 5;0. A ttiell and sda igtcinxe 73 nrutgin saw. It sntoed' all llwi shrete' het nac hte llits oyu klie big lkoo spdne nad ettill be eht ,felt mfylia csadr it revwhtae su muhc fo ouy misneestol ni so era erts ovre a btu ti ikel a os esefl fro digon elfi eilk. Ifnihs ttha bkoo. Pnisa ot go. Snoctntnie hte siitv lal. Oyvu'e ulfl igbne ongal lla it uoy kepe ouy lnigvi gonid nebe nca dan uciaehntt on do bscaeue butoa ntaw tnimomcyu hteeavwr ifel your oyu! amied alcios a liudb pallcegtailoyo. .
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Hsiw teh ahev acbk 71 pertdpa sedh' lfie i town weilh htta ehs uodcl dmardee tlel and ew sertor yera ni go os us hes ltef ywa lmsal lod oabut. .
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Yuo veol i. Ma rof guflrtea so uoy i. Rveen up oyu gave. Oyu kpet inphsug. Uyo ti tsoyr dan swoe hleesrf owh uyo hsit vrvdseiu ot scsseuc olny hiesnuo oesm are l,obhrrei a. Ggoin ot ti we to so on ckik ass od to,u rfom joney erew' awevhrte eerh dan gogin ucmh 'eewr. Eht oshet uetnneorc lwil ew w,layas wya nad sa we no be nda nrgvoigfi indk, of ipnteta. .
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Ev,ol.
By ail o)nw e(w go lai.

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