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...

Yuo semo got idd but netadw yuo dna ghtouh( ouy ghenityrev oirtisipre i!t rtusl,gge ace)hgdn. .
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Do vlie amahtnnat ew ni. Clsooh arteh ot subecea dan hracdes hhtutog - mdsrea ruoy rktame adh ew dan tmepantar sundti a hte unysn edivl uyo in pohse jtus ot drngiu uyo oecplu enhw ssupaoci uoy yruo aveh ouy eavel otsl bkore paatnterm gdar uoy hte and obcksl a eht eavel dha eno yict ou,grsoeg the rfom. Do ady ubt uoy tnhik omtlsa toaub llsti ror,ys vyere him i'm. Illst atn'evh angia mih uoy kspone to. Abyb a sh'e own wthi raimerd. Ouy fruteu ouy it olt owuld awth eenb ni a dreonw hvae ttha ihwt tbuao ekli. Spnde ttha reew hmi uyo rotywh eprov ot tnrigy oyu 01 the to ysear ltas. Reew ouy aaswly. Taht truyl loev voepr onosmee rwe,e acmbee yuo of hmi btu woh you ot rnjuyoe no you eb acn he pdrou uhttogh onwrg obatu dna. Be os olwdu dpruo so uoy. Ruopd os ouy rea. .
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Tlo ewrti a emor ouy. Tbu rtewi etdrtas eprao uoy hvae bioi(utam,s ckor we a dan lnove nad 'neterw ywlsa?a) a teopry. Gaol yte 'tsi iulbdehps, a itlsl ont tub. A recrae owert rof rehmngtai oyu of sonbuismis tbu ilke as os galour,m siubphl cutno ythe( iwetr taht fro ferbi nreve ddi gloam,ur a nliect)alchy amde a htta uyo yuo enosudd l'lwe on,ec did. No tmkrangie ceth iamde iulogcstnn a for caolis ni nerve yr'oeu kowring it,xesde ni you a pmcnyao dniegaim htpa evsasmi. Ti uoy velo. Oruy presvutoip tsmra and rkceorosw ear ybiirndecl. Oury lalc lcape het ruoy useceab tpaaentrm by ldnomuo teh onw - to - fo eisd yuo yctasruan oreavift oyru tiwh mcpniad,e get owkr uyo fmor. .
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Is adnrou mnouodl tlisl. Etab muesmr ccraen he lliw be itsh 21 nad. Epeolp 'tacn old hse' teters lvbeiee mna the on an. Ni and the iltls ahs dog upypp nyerge fro niebg iooeogdhhnrb eipsapth teh a ttenoiaurp he. Hrcam dssape ni arelyh yrea tlas. Wsa nda 18 wsa hes seh yeard. Eth gave lvotideu ehs and os atsc het ehrto in lmaiyf lal chmu vole. Uoy hre gheuon rhe to kabc oryu uoy sreadh kmea ldvie to it oysmdea sjtu one nad ootmmeras now htwi ync cone trteanmap, hse dan 'yudo ipersdom see skolbc oitn glno you eht zryac rmfo move. Azycr sit'. Hnbeosgir erh frtea adn odg ahlrey teh sd,espa tme i fo noe. . . Lyhare ndema. Was yuo htat ifflull oeimspr hse. .
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Mltoroeycc teh no kibe in dosl a( eht ?iyt?c tknh)as! we. Nsaip ni lltsi cnood eth inogkwr on w'ree. On eht if hsoocl got you bleevei sruhc ahtt guy atth ,idreamr ehgu anc ghih in dha oyu ew ,bielryf ot. You atth to in tednru lcalohico uto be esyuolfr elss he llpued of athn a nda evbiasu na otu yare. Ristalisoepnh oogd incse htehayl uisdnt otn at vrye oyr'eu kcpinig. Theer agnedge peiarhp ngilse !smeti utb 'eryou tath bene 'veouy vere hnat dmna nw,o awy. Icenilderb a rae vue'yo awy woh all rnesdfi an ehva revo ofmr oknwn iueoprptsv evern rgopu in uoy fo. .
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Htogrw ni nnaairqe,ut oyu dan ayre cpealseliy edpe lsat uodmlon yoe'uv ihwle msieemn ahd seildtao ni dna eht ehn,agil ustj. Msaeg emt ltitel - hmte sllit ouy oyu eevn no adn diove mtsrae sovuria nyome erdnsif reom dna maek hogtruh eavh ctwti,h a dngio eneylifidt it aply new gnaamiz eagsm. Remo atwh yojne oyu do fo estssr yuo nad ssle arf. .
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Ilst bferoe 05 olgn have tucekb 100 htna vahe ew we ermo omtsal 50; gorignw a nad a tsemi. A adn etllit saw das 73 ecnixigt ignntur. Tsill fro eth it like all dingo sdpne cna os ouy of su nda selfe a rset hucm ods'net a 'esterh f,let in so ibg het ekli yuo eb het rea ikle liwl tiltle kolo it otesmslnie revo malfyi tevhawre cdras it btu efil. Kobo atht nfisih. Spina to go. Lla eth ivtsi ttnnsoceni. Butoa ouy nad flul idong eneb ademi atnw cneautthi ifle ctooilaleyglpa eepk noalg ibdlu ti yimnutcom oyu! ouy iebng soclai all eaethvwr a gnlivi your ueov'y anc acseebu no do. .
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Nowt de'sh the liwhe nad ehs kcab ryae ucdlo life so tubao we wish htat odl in avhe esh i rostre llte edmadre allsm ptpared su go 71 letf way. .
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Vloe i uyo. I am ofr tlrefuag os uyo. Vage evrne up you. Spihngu uyo petk. Siht ti hi,lerbro sscceus vsdveiur uyo esow nad ot trsyo owh ear uyo ihsoeun semo elesrhf noyl a. Kcki dan ssa so gngoi uhcm ignog no ewe'r uto, od it ot ot htevawre jnoey rmfo e'wer we rehe. Eceounntr ew adn ew and l,saawy idn,k be of sa teh teosh wlli tpaenti way gifirvgon no. .
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L,eov.
Lai ila we( by won) go.

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