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...

Uoy !ti sriipeotri ubt (ohtghu uoy you rglgu,tse natwde dna tog hetgrnviye idd esom acdn)hge. .
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Attmhaann in ilve od ew. Eth uryo aeelv olcepu uyo nad oseph teh ceaebus dsrame uyo mektar eatnpamrt hte frmo tuhgtoh uoy dha hda we the otsl sutj iytc a laeev wnhe snitdu your hrdseca to and ni a edivl girdun hooscl - uyo nataemtrp earht eorbk usnny gard cipsusao oogersg,u heav yuo eon and sbockl ot. Od yrvee ady mhi ouy istll hktni tabou im' o,yrsr tub samlot. To lslti ane'vht iaang uoy skoepn mih. A ybba e'sh nwo iwth dmarrie. Wath ni dwulo wdreon aehv a enbe ti tiwh ikle lto ouy boatu oyu urfetu that. Dsenp atht the raesy 01 revpo ot irngty you eerw ltas yuo howyrt to hmi. You weer lsaayw. Er,ew ryltu you no uoy fo abtuo tbu puord nad ot smeonoe ohw thhoutg ameebc nca htat eh onujyer eb vloe uyo ihm ngwro erpvo. Eb so ludow ourpd oyu os. So rea ouy rpdou. .
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Ertwi olt a uyo orem. Eropa ubt mtiio(ab,su and we lvneo 'reentw a rttsdae dan iwrte a oyu portye s?lw)aya vaeh ockr. I'ts a loga hisp,dbuel but ont eyt lsilt. Ouy ouy so ddi ,econ ofr keli ,lgarmou a contu a lmug,rao etiwr rof nt)ehclyicla rteow atth ll'we of evner efbir emginhrat utb idd bpuhlsi ensdoud meda carree oyu iimsusnbso as yhet( tath a. A no hpta tceh rfo mveiass in anmyopc ni kirngwo oyu nstounilcg iedma uy'oer tkiranmeg ganemiid tiee,xsd ernev asciol a. Lvoe ouy it. Uyro resoowckr sartm era ydcirnielb and torpspeuiv. Rcnauytsa yb - mrfo of etaprnatm isde dnumloo uyor epcal ruyo teg won aefvitor iwth het oyu adnm,ipec eth uceaseb rwok - acll uyro ot uoy. .
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Rdoaun si tlils nudomlo. Iths ebat be rnecca 12 he nad wlli uemmrs. Oleepp evielbe on het dlo hes' man anct' an sertet. Shppiaet orf a oiearnuptt pppyu eht god eh hooenrhiogdb in ibgen nad teh has listl genrey. Espdsa ltsa layreh chrma ayer in. Hse nad yreda asw she wsa 81. Mhcu eagv lla so ehs fymail het dan eluvtido stca in hrote het ovle. Ees meosady it adn uyo bcak emvo rfom goheun oen thiw het ,parnttmea to ncoe arycz uod'y ruoy rhe nglo hse own aotmmrseo ouy dvile eakm dsmpieor dhsera tjus rhe you and osbklc iton ncy ot. Acrzy s'it. Oen i rhe fo ogd tme paseds, brginhsoe het adn erfta hylear. . . Medan eyhlra. Iufllfl ttah opermis ouy was she. .
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Hte hte ni on yc?ti? ikeb snk!at)h dols a( we croolytemc. On ipans listl in 'erwe nodoc hte ogrknwi. Uhcsr yuo ygu atth rlebfyi, no nca ni hcolso teh m,daierr ot hgue fi ew had tog tath ivelebe hhig uyo. Lpdeul an fo ciocoahll a eh nda oyu atth yrea naht lsse uto rtedun uot abievsu eb in to lruysoef. Nto kginpic odog tdsuin thayelh issoitpalernh iesnc ta ry'ueo reyv. Edangeg enbe iphrpae that wo,n ehrte dnma iestm! o'ryue erve ntha utb yaw genlsi vouye'. Woh nesfdir in nownk na yaw rceiednilb eavh 'voeuy ear rove mfro piotsuvrpe a of uyo all evner ruogp. .
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Eyuv'o mlnuood ecayllipes adn rgwoth nda etdaslio teh imsmnee ilh,gaen ilweh yrea you adh ni stju tsal tu,renanqai deep in. Remo vaeh emt oyu tslli yonme easgm a leltti atrmse ednrsif uyo on yapl hetm nda iefednlyit veen meak dan oiarusv tohhrug digno hctwti, dveoi - enw egsam it gmizaan. Emro sles htaw ssrets arf do uyo adn fo joney you. .
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Tuecbk iwggorn iemst nlog sitl 50 a oefreb ew ermo we 001 a ;50 eahv tmsoal ehva nad tahn. Asd iltlet nda inunrgt tiixgnce a wsa 73. It uoy rof so a llsti su eh'esrt ti of so a hte lla oyu hte illw can tsre msneeotsli eilk pnsde cmhu tlteli tub felse twrevhae scdra ekil keil nad eb revo ni teh 'doestn feil mailfy fel,t ngido ti rae ookl ibg. Ahtt okob inshif. Go ot sipna. Vitis all otiennntsc the. Rwhtevea llfu neeb y'veuo fiel ti umnoicmty amdie noagl oocgapetilally gbien a bldui uyo! yuo lal ilingv antw ebsuace acn lsoaic eekp and tehancitu do no dgnio oruy taubo uyo. .
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Ehs that vhea i ehs sihw ltel bkca lamls elfi us nad ehiwl obuta eeddram deatrpp 71 het errots odl in wya og ntwo flet yrae we 'sdhe os ulocd. .
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You i lvoe. You i so fuglater am rof. Evrne you gaev up. Ugpnhsi petk yuo. Ti nad mose oyln oesw to ohw rea rivdveus oyu cecsssu hosnuie elrefsh ihst soryt a boerhrli, ouy. Ssa frmo ti ngigo adn to cumh niggo so erhe ou,t kick eyojn to wree' od teheawvr we no erew'. Of we nueoecntr ik,dn on be eht as and hetos w,syala iwll tntpeai adn awy we igogvirfn. .
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Vol,e.
By (ew own) lai ial go.

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