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...

Msoe uhgoh(t ouy did uyo tog )ndcgaeh !ti you tawden istepriiro veynehtigr l,grtegus dna but. .
.
Ew in do leiv nmanhtata. Omfr rdga teh oicaupss het cupeol readsm we rathe a ryuo evild stuj etpatamrn ogththu oyu a beacesu otls grdiun lveea aemktr ot nda kcoslb ohlocs uyo keorb ouy adn drahecs - preanatmt had ot you adn udisnt ni hnew osuggore, veael ciyt heav ruoy sepho dah nsnuy oen oyu hte eth. Tllsi msolat hitkn im' ady btu rr,soy eyerv you do uboat imh. Keopns 'nteavh tlisl aaign ihm oyu to. Mriraed a itwh hes' wno baby. In lto oyu htta wrnedo uyo obtau ti a ueftur wtah bene ilke doluw hwti ahev. Him epsdn hte ohwtyr atth ot rntiyg to slat yraes uyo ouy 10 rveop rwee. Swalya ewer you. Can mbceea mih lytru ouy rwogn ot fo ouy oevl owh jnreouy boatu eovrp upord no dna he tohhtgu you erew, btu eb nemeoos that. Os os duwol udpor you be. Rae ouy udrop so. .
.
Triwe ouy reom otl a. A apero ocrk awy)?lsa dna reitw eavh we eorpty attsder oyu a(sitmoiub, a utb adn et'ewrn ovlen. Ton ltsil sti' ety ,iphudsleb a gaol utb. Ouy nctou of blsipuh unsedod sa teh(y you eibrf for tub ddi a a htta fro rotwe nrteagimh amgrl,uo eecrar ,eocn iretw m,alorgu erenv did ttha so mdae yuo lkei soinubissm a ie)nclchtyla l'lwe. Ioascl in nerve a igonusltcn a you dmgiaien ni htpa ceth kgniowr rof pamonyc no argenimkt iextsd,e deaim ye'ruo msisvea. You it olve. Cbdliyeirn rekoswroc stamr and ueirtosppv oyru rae. Calpe teh oounmld etg tanraeptm arucntsya - ertavoif uoyr dsie apnem,dic besucae yb oryu lcla the ot fo won you rofm whit uyo rkwo ruoy -. .
.
Lsitl odaurn udnoolm is. Nad anccer abte rsumem eh 21 illw ihts eb. Na c'ant lod on se'h steter eeoplp amn lbievee eht. Ehppasit in a odg hte rof aopinttreu litsl erygen the gbnie eh sah pyupp nda hnbdeooohirg. Acmhr erya ni pesads lyhrae tlas. Wsa she was 18 she nad ayedr. Ucmh eht aevg leov scta all vodutlie etohr lmaiyf in eht adn os ehs. Noce ese itwh juts nad uyo uhnoge veild bscolk hse otin sopdrime reh vmeo carzy ryou nwo bkca rhe dan to 'uydo ot rhaeds ti nyc eodmyas eht one glon trasmoome meak mrfo you ouy tenar,tmpa. Ycraz si't. Ehr mte oen hlyaer nda i neobighsr het dog fo aps,sde aeftr. . . Aendm rlhaye. Ouy atht pisreom was seh flilufl. .
.
Eht sdol a( kieb a!)sknht in ctyi?? no eht ocmtecolyr we. Docon ni teh no we'er ikonrwg isltl saipn. ,rmdeiar anc ew uyg yilebf,r euhg no belveie htta in ihhg tath uyo uyo hte if hlscoo ogt dha ot schru. Yera eh to a an atht of royeulsf uot ouy illaococh ni otu vbsuaie derunt ssle edupll anht eb nad. Rvey nsealhitsriop ton ta good youer' cines cgkpiin lahtyhe stnidu. Prhpaie lnsgei oeru'y ,wno htna ttha etsi!m ovuy'e ggdeena erve utb neeb admn etrhe yaw. Have a eyov'u of dibeicrenl over esifdnr ofmr lla utpseovirp urpog ni wnokn ouy owh awy na neevr era. .
.
Yrea dah mudonlo hie,gnla otdleisa vuoey' wlihe ilpyclease in nad jtus uoy tsla edpe twhrog hte esminme nad ruaqan,tine ni. T,citwh ewn evha ievod dfnsrei alyp ouy rohhtug fiyetlndei - ietllt akme ermo adn met neev hmet gmsea gdoin agesm no a oyemn uoy dna emrtas it suoraiv ngaazmi tllis. Fo eomr dna whta sesl you ynjoe rfa oyu tesrss od. .
.
We hvea dan 010 05; btceku 05 refboe taslom a ntha slit a emtis we omre gngiwor nlgo avhe. Tunirgn a 73 iettll iigcxent aws dsa and. Ndesp be a flte, a nca itsll tub htvwaeer tnlsemoesi elki amifyl rof chmu tleilt it os ti uyo iwll gbi rasdc keli dna eikl eth file eth are sert so ni teh ookl nigdo su yuo 'serteh all sefle ti of reov etnods'. Kboo htta ihisnf. Og ot aipsn. All vsiti the neticntosn. Lvigni yoevu' loang wrvehate a lful mdiae tentihuca uoabt eifl uoy od !oyu no uoy dna bliud oicasl eenb ceolagoptyalil tnaw uascbee ti yuor nca ekep ndiog bnige all iumytncom. .
.
Eifl ayre she allms abuto ucdlo raddeme owtn so go 71 lod bakc ishw the d'ehs veha etll hatt adn us wya i ehs ni welih letf rroset we ppradet. .
.
Yuo i vloe. I orf fgtraeul yuo ma os. Pu reenv uoy egav. Ktpe yuo gisuhnp. Eehsfrl to rohibr,le ti iousneh dna some eosw tish a vseduriv woh secsusc sryto yuo noly ouy aer. Ot do hmuc ass ngoig we to,u rhee iogng form ti wer'e so wevtareh eonyj weer' cikk to on and. Epatint eht on as adn stohe nkdi, eb netcnueor fo ilwl adn awl,say ew wya grginivfo ew. .
.
Olev,.
Ial go onw) we( ial yb.

This user has written an update to this letter.To see what they wrote, please

Press ← and → on your keyboard to move between letters

Write new comment

Load more comments