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...

(hohtug nda you otg yuo ouy idd ti! )naecdhg nygehvitre lugreg,ts tbu aendtw resiitpiro esom. .
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Ew ni tamhtanna live od. Kobcls osogge,ur tmnatreap adsrme hda leupoc oyu ryou hte a teh eno rdag uoy a asuispco dnigur eht teh tartnpema vlaee syunn yuo ematrk ofmr aterh tcyi had escbaeu whne yuro you eobrk dna iutnsd usjt otthghu sarehcd evha aelev ltos sochol to ouy pseoh ew ni dna - nda evldi ot. Rr,oys itlsl i'm tnikh btu loatms do ryeve ayd mih otuba uyo. Uoy agina ksenop ahen'tv to mih itlls. Hse' a ademrri with own byab. Ruutef ni you oyu olt udowl onwedr liek awht a whit it eahv htat eneb otuab. Ot erwe eysra het oyu 01 him to verop uyo that owtryh pends rgynti lats. Uyo ywasla eerw. Tuthogh fo soenemo pduro htat but eh yuo rltuy eerw, eb yuo tbuoa love norgw on hmi oprve nca oreyjun ot how you beemac dna. Os eb you olwdu poudr os. Rdoup so you rea. .
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A otl oerm ouy tirwe. Adn sawal)?y tr'enwe stibim(ao,u rpaoe a ew utb vaeh otrepy adn lonev cokr you ttraeds iwetr a. Sulp,dbieh tbu otn a olga ety lislt tsi'. Irbef tncou lspihbu rfo tbu elwl' ddi erhmiangt iussoismbn reaerc h(yet fo a sdueodn witre a ahtt evner ielk altiyhccl)en uoy so sa uoy umarlo,g a retwo ,oenc gralm,ou atht ofr ddi yuo eamd. Rwokngi pcomnay ofr a erevn in ergmiknat y'eoru siesmav ni meida lgcoinstnu ecth a tpah oyu on osclia neigdami dee,isxt. Loev uyo ti. Turosepipv oruy rwkrooces rea iclndybeir dna mtsar. Tmptreaan by elcap ouyr ruyo emad,nicp of eisd uoy eth teh - onw wiht krow yuo ot rofm yuro - tge euebsac alcl noudolm unayacstr feaoirvt. .
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Tlsli uodrna noulmdo si. Teba rummes acncer dna be 12 itsh liwl eh. Tcan' no man 'hse odl hte an elbviee leopep sttere. Yeergn tslil adn ash dog gnbei dooiebrhhnog yuppp rfo the he a teh utrtneapio epspitha in. Lyrahe assdep in ryea ltas mcarh. Swa 81 dan she adeyr aws hes. Geva scat dan yilfma os lal veol rtheo cuhm in hte she idtlvuoe eht. You uoy noe hre yuro evidl edsrah see rhe oatsomerm okclsb enco dan rdpesiom to uo'yd tsju nlgo hneuog ouy cny ofmr hiwt itno het artpm,enat mkae zracy akcb ot ovem won ehs ymdesao dna it. Yzarc s'ti. Met ,adspse fo reh lraehy het one odg and rafet i rhonigseb. . . Mndae yrlhae. Swa ahtt hse fllufli you msperoi. .
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We het dlos eth ns!ta)hk (a i?tc?y in on kebi cmrtcoeylo. In apnsi ginrwko docno the we're no ltils. Lhocso eht rscuh hgue ,fberliy gihh imae,rdr to no ogt leveebi if can taht tath you we ygu dha in ouy. Aohocllci dna that ahtn slse dlupel he otu ni ayre an fo to srelyuof be otu ertdnu uyo ueasibv a. At scien ensrpoltiahsi dtusni ngicikp otn 'oreuy eyhlhat dgoo evry. Btu bnee ttah aehprip ruy'oe lseign eagnged !items ehter vere wya vey'ou madn anht ow,n. Ugopr onkwn vrene uo'eyv ouy trievspupo na owh fo rmfo a have drnefis ervo era ceednrliib ni ayw lal. .
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Ulomnod sjut you peed and ,iaennaqrtu year teh clpelesyai dna in satidelo ni uyeo'v hda hweil nigleah, stal nemseim wtgroh. Veah and idgon telitl oyu adn payl uvoiars agsem it amsetr a moer tem vnee ekma meht diyleifent oeidv ltsil no orhtguh wth,cit idnersf mazniga ouy - gaesm enw onmye. And mroe fo essl yeonj htwa sssert od uoy fra uyo. .
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Nolg ofeber nad we 001 iwgongr ahnt iemst emro ucektb ;05 have ew aveh a a almtos 05 ilts. Saw sda 37 nad titlel tnginru a ixngteic. Uoy wrheteva leki it ekli efli ti seh'ret ngdoi acn myfali ,tlef eb ibg het the lliett btu os osetn'd mistlenseo a oevr fo us rset loko will sacdr sltli keli yuo humc all in dnesp and a rae it eht flese so ofr. Nshiif obok htat. To ipans og. Lal het isitv tnintneocs. Evehrtaw begni adeim ngodi ytollgpaaceloi scilao a eekp atiuehtcn uoy ti ibuld eusebca dan lufl elif you! ingivl want no oeyuv' nca you abuot iucmtynom uryo lla do bnee aonlg. .
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Eltl dol ersrot veha se'dh alsml ehwli ttah og eht 17 i uldoc iwsh ehs os ftel seh su leif wtno aubot we eayr adn eamedrd yaw derappt acbk ni. .
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Levo i yuo. Geutaflr fro i am yuo os. Ouy up evrne agve. Uipghsn ektp you. Adn ear osem uyo selrfeh vuviersd hsti yuo erihlbro, to woh ti sryot esusscc sewo nylo hniuseo a. Ssa no ew adn mfor goign gigon kikc rew'e ti od ot ewraveht ,otu to rew'e erhe os hcmu onyej. A,wysla eht ayw ohets ginfivorg liwl fo ew on ecunrneto eb nad ,kdni ew as etintpa adn. .
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,elov.
(ew by ail go )now ila.

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