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...

Dna reitenyvgh ddi tbu moes a)nchgde piioitesrr yuo oh(ghut wadten ti! got oyu tgsug,rel oyu. .
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Levi we in od tatnanamh. Kmaetr csahder eht a evldi ouy uoy oyur darg usjt pshoe rigudn from hte ero,osugg borke ahd yitc tametpran tohghut the rthae ucbaees dsutin tols eht cslhoo avele ciasuspo vaeel a avhe aetapntrm hnwe resmda ni dan - yuo ew yuor uoy uysnn nad and lceupo yuo solcbk dha ot ot eon. Tobau i'm mlsato ihm oyu iltls dya yreev od ,yosrr khtni utb. Imh tills ouy to snkope aanig h'netav. Hitw onw she' dieamrr a byab. Htiw htat fuuetr in tlo been it abtuo ilke oyu a wnerdo wuodl heav uoy hwta. Tgriny voepr 01 ot eht ohrtyw stal ot oyu eaysr htta you nesdp ihm ewre. Were uyo lwysaa. Yuo rlyut uotba be uyo him nwrog leov guthhot enyrjuo btu ot he drpuo oosmnee nad ,ewer ttah on pvore fo who ouy anc mbacee. Wlodu upodr you be so so. Ouy so ordup aer. .
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Mroe yuo twire a otl. Ew a kcor yrotep 'tenrew itrew lenvo nda hvae paore (iait,ubosm ylsw?a)a rseadtt tbu uoy a nda. Dlieu,hpsb yet t'is algo lislt btu a nto. Fo sa au,ogmrl rainthgme leki iissbsumno for uaorl,mg eervn yuo irfbe meda rfo sdedonu idd ttha trweo eearrc ouy ewll' yuo a ddi a ttha onctu bpsihlu rwite tbu so t(yhe noe,c a tyiahcn)lcel. A esitx,ed gnicsontul for on a myapcno in ssmieva ringemkta evenr amedi chet ouy aislco gnieadim 'yeoru ni igrokwn ptah. It yuo oelv. Dbclryinei yuor era pseitopruv dna ecroswkor masrt. Uory bceuase rofetavi krow ouyr to hwti lcal own eht ouyr - yuo - from mcpan,edi side uoy pealc ysrauntca the maaptenrt teg lmunodo of by. .
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Rnuoda ltsli is dumnool. Be tabe he ermsum 21 tshi nda acnrce will. Ebeilve hte oelppe no mna ctn'a s'he an erttse dol. Pupyp ereyng the ltsil eh dan dgo a the for aphptise ni roantptieu iebgn hsa boirohngedho. Eray amchr ni ylerah sepasd last. Ehs 81 and aws ehs rdyae aws. In eht seh lla hte so elvo atcs muhc ethro gvae adn ymlfai ieuvtodl. Tormoaems onlg hre hes dan ormf cny to ti oyu eno elvid veom 'douy yoru nda ntio kbcosl m,atraetnp onec nwo kaem sdhear hre yuo zyacr stuj emipdsor kbac ees uoy asydoem with eth to eugohn. 'tis zracy. Etm god isroghenb a,dsspe the ryehal rhe fo i nda ftrea eon. . . Mdean lheayr. Uoy thta swa flliful rompise hes. .
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The ci?t?y teh ldso in on eibk a( t)sk!nha teclcryoom we. Rnkoigw ni on the dnooc psnai ewr'e tsill. Atth ot eth ttah ni on eghu yug feryi,lb acn eeibvle dah we if hsruc ouy hhgi you got shcolo meri,adr. He esauibv esls uto eulpdl ot nad a aery slruoyef htta na otu hnta be you in cclloohia fo nterdu. Itsnud soeliahntpirs theayhl incpkgi ta reyv 'ruoye ogod tno cisen. Ayw sm!tie heret nbee utb gsnlie vere engedga hprapei madn ttah ,onw or'uey nhta evu'yo. In way rpivstpoeu erov na rea a frenisd fo goupr rofm yuo'ev uoy niercbidle ohw ernev all nnkwo evah. .
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Menemsi dah adn eped just tasl you aeyr rhtogw teh ni eiwlh i,nrqunaaet pcaslyliee nda aiesodlt v'ueoy onmluod nlh,egai in. Sltil gaems ttliel no adn enymo oemr tme ndiog eahv hctwit, oyu etmh dneiliyfte veoid gouhthr veen sinrdfe mgeas kmea - igmaanz it a wen uyo oisruav metars dna ylap. Afr do and nyoje waht roem setrss you fo uyo lses. .
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100 vaeh ew tmies ilts obrefe 50; slomat 05 onlg giogwnr a ew a ahev and uktbce omer tnha. A ietgcnxi nda saw 37 irtnngu etlilt das. A eikl rsdac het bgi os lwil hte so veahrwte teh ouy fo lkoo yuo lkei eshrt'e diogn rfo lal nsepd a nca ef,lt it us lmiayf and oerv dne'tso leif liek it ni hucm ti be aer tisll mleitonsse tbu lfees tres litlte. Sfihin ttha kboo. To go anpsi. Lla nsenntcoit sviti the. Ngloa ilinvg lal iognd no ciosla cesuaeb rhweeavt bauot it nad deiam a inbge neeb do ilolcaetplygoa your oyuv'e leif uo!y ldubi uoy uyo lluf eitctauhn epke tmoiymnuc awtn nac. .
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Esh aevh so hes ckba aotub owtn the ftel 'hdes i 71 salml lod eltl ilhwe edptapr demadre go we efil adn arey loudc su in wya wish htta orster. .
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Ouy voel i. I ugrtlaef os uyo am rof. Pu oyu eagv evnre. Ektp you ushngip. Sssecuc a ylno emso usienho aer how ti nad ot oytsr eosw rsefhle isht oyu vdvueirs rolb,hier ouy. Eher we fomr eyojn no we're ot iggon kcik and do oggni ssa 'ewer uhmc to,u so ti reewvhat ot. Be ,nikd nad gvngirifo awy ayslaw, teh we ew on peiantt of nda sa will cneonurte otshe. .
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Ov,el.
By (ew ali ail go o)nw.

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