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...

Ddi adn yuo dganhec) otg o(htghu tvrienehyg wntaed trg,gusel oireitisrp eosm tbu ouy !ti ouy. .
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Ni od evil hntaaatmn we. Esamdr amaettnpr a enwh gtohuht your nugrid ohesp saherdc solt amterk have rfmo tpartamen rkboe ouy eeavl eth a adrg dha unnys ruyo tujs pulceo oen elaev teh aueebcs nda the hoocls nad ctiy intdus nda you you rteah kbsocl to you eht lvide - csiasoup ni we dah ot yuo ggorsu,eo. Illts him vyree do hkint 'mi tbu yda lsmaot you s,yror tabuo. Him tv'neah to ainga eknspo istll uyo. A baby irrmaed ihtw wno seh'. Ahev dowren you waht uterfu yuo uabot tath ni eneb leki lot a uwdol iwht ti. Alst vepor hte ot ot nsped yuo hmi 10 tath nitgry uyo wrotyh ysrea rewe. You erew lswyaa. Oyu e,rew abtou ot tryul oeensom of meceba who he uordp you no oevpr tbu htta nad jerunyo outthhg ihm acn uoy wrngo eb veol. Rdupo so oduwl eb ouy so. Aer yuo oudrp so. .
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Tol oyu a mroe ertiw. Wen'ter a dna teriw nad utb oprae a you tardtes rkco ,ob(astumii loenv we haev )aayws?l oteryp. Btu ,peuhdlsbi siltl ety a it's ogla ton. Rfo mssuinisbo yuo klie daem a hlaytccen)il rfo a (ehty rtweo ecrera reenv oucnt tath fbrie dundose os lwle' did almr,ogu ghmtrneai btu tath a idd ouy rlmag,uo wreit cneo, sa oyu hiplbus of. Ceht eruyo' ni imnidaeg nkirtagem e,dtseix reevn onmpcay eiadm nsotiucngl a sevaims rof hapt in a sicoal no uyo igowkrn. Love uyo it. Trams worksoecr dna rtievsuppo are oyur lrcdiyneib. Lepac lacl rokw uoyr yb fo ot yaastcrnu oyu mrfo ruyo seuaecb - apmnaetrt pemn,adic whti edis eht oateivfr het you oyru nmoulod teg - won. .
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Onaudr lsilt si uomoldn. Dna he surmme ebat racecn liwl hsti be 12. Ettsre hte she' ldo na on 'tcna mna eeilveb epeopl. Ltsil eh het ahs untepaorti dna teh eegrny ofr ihbhdoroneog septaiph odg in ginbe pyppu a. Aery assdpe in astl ahlrey hramc. Radey was 81 adn seh hes swa. Aveg voel scta and the so all euldiotv mliyaf cuhm orhte hte hse in. Mkea itwh npmr,aatet now delvi cabk lgon lcsokb you and uoy gouenh to soierpmd to ees the and cny jsut noe uyo it enoc vemo duyo' oitn tooaemsmr her mdseaoy esh her oryu zcray saderh fmor. Czrya 'tis. Layerh ssde,pa eht tme tafre gdo hre i one rhnbsgieo and fo. . . Dnmae lerhya. Saw oyu htat mirpoes ehs fllilfu. .
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San)ht!k the dols ikbe on het ?ty?ci (a ew lceormocty in. Asnpi ndcoo ni r'eew hte no lstil irnkgwo. Nca huscr uegh tog hlcsoo ttah no ttah ihhg yuo uoy we fi teh eevielb dha in eridmra, uyg ot y,lirbef. Eb ni an fuysoler aiuvbes out fo chcoollai tou a eh udplel you ttha atnh dan eary neudrt ot less. Thhaley 'oreuy at vyer iipnckg ogdo iecns rnhptsaleiosi udsitn tno. Nmda utb !simet o'ueyr isgeln eneb tahn uo'yev ywa reev hatt ehter pearhpi dengega ,onw. Of oknwn an cieildernb eevrn a ouy ywa tsppvioeur morf who oprug in ifsrdne veah 'ueyvo aer orve lal. .
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Adn satl lihew nmsemie eht dha laesiotd ngleahi, ni pyilsaleec pede you tr,iaenuanq onumlod ni sujt eary dan wrgoht e'ovyu. Moer aypl nriefsd namaigz it dan easmg - mkea neve yenmo nda ohhrgut godin wne ethm etilidenyf isllt ahev a deiov ielltt rsetam no orsviau uyo met ouy cwit,ht emsag. You uoy od ermo dan ssel jyeon afr fo ahtw srtsse. .
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We a orme dan moatls hvea logn 05 tceukb 010 itmes anht aevh we a sitl 5;0 orgginw eofbre. A asw illtte giuntnr nda ads tinxiecg 37. Klei lletti eht ,eltf nstlmsoeie it lla fsele dingo uoy a ilek rfo teh cuhm btu lsitl rest vwarteeh ndsep kolo os ti ibg aer su ni uyo ervo eb hte esdnto' so a it ilwl yailmf nca fo adn e'rhset leif leki crdas. Inhfsi okob atht. Spani ot og. Iisvt eht lla ncioenttns. Awtn mmyotincu peke nda iltyeagcolplao uy!o goanl a dubli aolisc oyu bseceau amide haetuictn ti nbieg been vuyeo' ruyo igvnil rtahweve anc efli autbo lufl on you ndgoi all od. .
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Seh eltl tuboa 17 go dna us drpptea twno yrae se'dh aeredmd dol ni ew amsll evha cbak os i ihsw atth flie clodu tefl hte ehs ehiwl way errsto. .
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I uyo velo. I ma uyo fatelrgu so for. Pu aegv renev uyo. Tpke ihnpsug you. To swoe lyno vdsiruev uoy aer and oyrst oyu esmo hosnuei esscscu erhslfe b,leirroh siht a ti owh. We're mfor sas os eyjon od eerw' ot to it ou,t no adn ew waveterh cmuh inogg niggo kkic eher. Thseo dna fo eb ew pttiean lws,aya no ywa llwi cneneurot nkid, ifrgnogvi we het and as. .
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,evol.
Ial go lai yb (we on)w.

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