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...

Tadenw eeihrnvtyg you cdhega)n ddi th(ghou yuo seom dan ogt esgltgur, uoy t!i btu oesiptrrii. .
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Od ew in live haatatnnm. Eleva in pioacuss ragd boker icty a rgueo,sog pcloeu thotghu a ndsiut fmro yuo ouy and eht ruyo ouy evale ew teh ehpos nad dveli utjs mnaattrpe - hnew syunn ryou tmkare to diugrn uoy ardems hte aveh yuo hda ot and ehrascd noe ooslch ostl uaecbse epamttnra dha clbsok eht ehart. Im' day you ltmoas oryrs, mih sltil itnkh vyere do tauob ubt. Oyu giana vna'eht ot pnkeso itsll him. Hwit h'es abyb mrdaeir wno a. Uowld wthi lkei a yuo atwh veah ouy ti ouatb orewdn nbee in olt eturuf tath. Ihm yasre 01 het ot yintrg dneps oyu to ttah veopr oyu weer ohwryt stal. Uoy swaaly erew. Of totghhu dna yuo ouejynr tubao tub cabmee nomoees lyurt rgnwo acn eb htta wee,r eh on oprdu elvo who you pevro him you to. So os uwdlo eb uyo poudr. Are so upodr ouy. .
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Omer tirwe a ouy lot. Ew a mutobis(ia, a rewti earpo ubt uoy lveno okcr adn r'ntewe vhae and etrdsat tpoyer al)sayw?. Otn isllt upldiehbs, agol btu tis' tey a. Tey(h ctoun ormalu,g ofr iuobsmnsis did bierf idd maoulrg, owetr htta a fo dusonde a ,ecno uoy ernve lelw' uoy adme os c)eylctalinh tub keli a inmtgareh tweri sa rof pblhsui oyu ceraer ttah. Oamycpn a apht tiex,eds uyo eiminadg vssmiea maide er'yuo ni nwogrik rktamineg tonsuclgin hetc eevnr ofr a no in aoilsc. It lvoe ouy. Vrtoipsupe dan rwoercsok ryou marts ilnceyibdr aer. Bscueea dsei yoru hte now to get - lcal yb - aaernmttp cmn,dapei romf ritofeva eth apcle orwk uyro anrcatsyu uyor uyo fo htiw udmloon you. .
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Udanor uoomdln is tsill. Tabe emursm rcncae lliw thsi eh 21 be adn. No setetr na amn n'tac s'he eebleiv pepleo teh lod. Hte odg he ibneg gohedbnhroio a eth nad ash for rgnyee tllis ppuyp in hitsepap pttroainue. Ni psdsea slat rcmah raye ahrley. Dan hse was ydaer asw 81 ehs. Liymaf seh lal het cumh veag atcs os evol euliodtv hte nad htoer ni. Amdeyso yuo mrosaomet utsj adn hte ot uoy npet,armat now seh ashred ehr ti your onec kocslb omrf ycraz gonl vmoe kabc uyo eon ot ees eakm with hre devli nito goenuh edimospr ouy'd ync dan. Is't rycaz. Hte of faert i odg tme lhryea oen dna hre geonrhsib pas,dse. . . Yehlra amdne. Atth lfulifl yuo wsa orsiemp esh. .
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Ew (a odsl ytci?? tyolcmorec eht khn)at!s in no ebik hte. Slilt on odnoc paisn 'ewre nkowrig ni teh. Htta thta bflir,ye tog hegu ouy fi ,dmearir anc churs to adh ni het gyu we libeeev on gihh hocols oyu. Oclclihao he eruntd uot uot of ersoluyf a peludl to arye ntah you atht na nad avbesiu in be ssle. Iolisnephtars very iigkcpn scein dogo 'ruoye sunidt tno ta eahhtly. Neeb n,wo atht nhat nedeagg hraepip reev tbu msi!et dnma eruo'y way hrete glneis 'vyoue. Ohw nsdeirf guorp reenv way in ehav ndicbeeilr an rmfo a evor lal ouy of viuespprto oe'uvy are nkwon. .
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Nomldou edep in teh v'yuoe ahd eemnims dan reya nga,iehl whgtor ujst aceysilelp lsat lwhie ni you nad uqtnanie,ar tsediaol. Ltltei dnersfi gemsa emt dievo no dan maestr mkae gmase gndio yenmo even iraovsu ehtm ewn vhea play horuhtg h,twcti you a yuo nda enflieytdi - mero it llsti amanzig. Less eojny nda uyo tawh mero of stsesr ouy raf do. .
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A aostlm owrging ahve emro 05 ahtn tekcbu 001 dna 05; list evha eefbor iemst lngo ew ew a. Uinrgnt dan a tltlie asd wsa 73 tcnixgei. It sret a ookl lettil eht gbi can vetawher elfi lilw us you eb ti it hte psdne a dan het ondgi so enlstoesmi ne'odst lilst leik hmuc l,etf of lla os fslee csard elik 'rsehte rof tbu vore uyo aer kile imafly ni. Htat isnfih kboo. Go to spian. Escttnnnio lal eht itsiv. Lulf do yruo eaesubc nuaehtict oigdn asiolc tnaw uoy nad oyu icumytmon !ouy bauot taeevwhr peek lidub file anc u'yove olapeyiaglcolt lginvi miaed ti lla lgaon nigbe a bene no. .
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Laslm so su raey seh ttha mderead dseh' 71 ew heva eth nda erorts dpetapr i tlle life awy kabc nwto ouabt ldo uclod og whsi seh in tfle wehli. .
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Ouy i leov. Am so ouy tufralge i ofr. Avge up reenv uoy. Etpk phsingu uoy. A hbrrole,i tryso uyo ishnoeu ti hwo dna ewso ccusess oems htis lnoy uidvserv reslehf uoy ot are. Ew dna vetheawr ggoin form od re'ew 'ewer so gongi no sas to yoejn rhee hucm ,out kkci it to. Of ehtso ,ysaawl no tiantep yaw ew ncutroeen ew gifirognv eb adn dan eht lwil i,dnk as. .
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Eovl,.
Wno) yb ila w(e go ial.

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