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...

Oyu soem got huo(htg uyo i!t and tbu rtpieoisir awnted acdn)hge did ngereytvhi g,rgeuslt uyo. .
.
Tnataanhm od veil ew ni. Eon nad to mrttaneap dna acrsdeh ynusn ramtke gard omrf the eavel a es,ougrog the you your nhwe ni haev naaeptmrt srmdea opecul obrke we sclooh cobksl lsot hda pociussa teh city ievdl soeph dan alvee tjsu htuhotg you duignr uoy adh sbcueae - atreh you oury teh ot uoy untsid a. Tknhi vreey rsyo,r 'mi uoy tub him day about llits aoslmt od. Uyo naiga sllit to mih tnevh'a nskoep. Htiw abyb a aemridr onw hs'e. Bene twhi ti lto ttah drwoen you veha ubato uyo wdoul kiel hwta utufer a in. Ot ot 10 irtyng enspd oyu mhi astl verop erwe taht het owtrhy seary you. You erwe awalsy. Oupdr nca he mih ,wree eoonsem you be ecmeab woh but truyl rnowg that btaou dan uoy olev you oprev to tutohgh fo njryueo no. Os uprod be odlwu os yuo. Uprod so are ouy. .
.
A ouy emro tierw otl. Aalsy)?w korc a ew dan lnvoe (iaut,ibosm ehva ertwne' utb porea a yuo teirw dan asredtt toepry. A i'ts lago eubshpd,li ont tye stlil tbu. Meda uoy wle'l orgma,lu efbir recrae pbsihul that a ocunt but you as uoy ahtt a rewto cone, ikle ddi did lo,amrug ariegtmnh os hte(y dsonued fo nerev isobsusimn a rtiew ehylli)tncac rof ofr. Phta rgtainkme reevn onirgwk ni a tse,ixde cteh uoy aompync vamseis rof a sloaci gonlsnucti no ureo'y ni ndgaiiem idmea. You it ovle. Adn uryo krcwesroo rea sarmt ndibecryli poptireuvs. Oyu rfmo isde sbecaue uoy yb egt het of ouyr caepl snctuyraa - rtaanepmt yrou nwo hte empd,iacn to kwor ruoy atrivfoe ihtw llac - oumlndo. .
.
Rduoan slilt oulmdon is. Be he shti rummse areccn 21 abte liwl dan. Man ldo hs'e eht 'cant an rsteet eplpeo bieelve on. Eh gbeni rfo ash geenry teh a ogd itsll ppuyp nda in ntpureitao apipseht eth ihghbdoeorno. In amrhc reya lhayer sdaeps stla. Dna saw hes 18 eryad ehs saw. Lla hes eth ohtre scat gvae lafyim cmuh eth ditulvoe in so nda loev. Ohunge from oury rdesmiop seh see emvo ouy y'uod emasoyd ieldv kame ehr ti ot etanra,ptm onw iwth yrcaz erh eht dna akbc readsh dan nyc otmeoamsr lngo oen uyo tnio to jstu ceno you obckls. Rczya t'si. Eht fo ehr ogd mte speds,a refat neo benrsoihg rehlya dan i. . . Hrealy mande. Taht flflilu uoy she wsa oimpres. .
.
Iekb the on cy?i?t in the ew tlyccooemr losd a( )nhtksa!. Odcno teh on 'erwe tsill ni rinowgk pnsai. No oyu hghi gehu ot tog oohlcs eeblevi hatt if ni acn ouy yug ahtt rreiamd, we het scrhu lbfr,eyi ahd. Fo uot htat and ssle he luseorfy ot endtru htan auisevb an in pleuld uto colhioalc be arey you a. Ngcipik tunisd oodg not ta eryu'o taelhyh secni reyv sipeanliroths. O'uyve yaw euor'y tnha btu atth sglein iapherp bnee gadneeg imet!s reev nmad ,won etrhe. You lla yaw eiilbnrced evrne ni how rae ipovuterps rgupo oe'vyu a revo rdfesni fo orfm vhae na wnonk. .
.
Enuai,nrtaq lseiycplae nda and had vuyeo' dtesilao laeghi,n eayr the heilw eedp ni mondolu tlsa rtgohw in sutj uoy nemsemi. Wen eirfsdn a adn mte wh,ictt lpay neev gsaem you - irasouv mkea gaazmni dan ntlieyiedf iedvo rhugtho rtmase haev dingo oneym lilst msage tletil ermo meth oyu it on. Of hwta uoy adn od srsest eyonj orme arf uyo essl. .
.
A gwingor ntah gonl 100 otmsla vhae dna ew a eitms 05; 05 kctueb tlis omer eavh rboefe ew. Tillet nad a ads 37 ngtruin gxetniic wsa. Elki lla be feil 'sndeto su leiltt ti fo it for eimteolsns wlil lfees dan eaetwhvr e,tfl ervo cna mchu rese'ht a the rae igb btu tser drcsa pnsde a os ni elik onidg teh eht eikl uoy so ti ookl fmiayl yuo sllit. Ttha oobk infhis. Ot iapsn go. All stivi teh tenncsonti. Lief a htervaew o!yu chteuinta no epke 'uoyev autbo idulb igben uyo and gvliin lal dimea oindg bnee acn uyo cosial lufl ogaln ymtmnouic do anwt lloaicpotelyag eabsuec it royu. .
.
Elfi us og ni 71 seh nad dlo ahve hatt way elhiw hes etdrapp demdear ltef shwi alsml cbka uocld roerst arey so i tlle buaot ownt ds'he ew hte. .
.
I olve uyo. Ma i elagruft yuo rof so. Up oyu veenr gvea. Gphiusn oyu kpet. Oesm you vsruived ti ot irheo,blr insuohe thsi ear sccseus sryot how nad a rsehfel yoln oyu wose. Eerh uo,t on nyeoj to ew're os nad er'ew chum mfor kikc ti we oggin hweeravt ngoig to sas do. And hoest ,kidn we eht be l,ysaaw as of we wya illw eonrectnu griogvifn tnpiaet and no. .
.
Ovle,.
Og w)on ila (ew by ali.