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...

Tog ogtuhh( btu ouy nda detwna oesm uoy uyo vntyeerihg ipoiriesrt ecdhga)n ti! ggul,rest did. .
.
We attnmnaah in vlie od. Omrf eaelv eth ysnnu and lcoksb veidl - you nad ophse ew rattapemn het loucep aemrkt uoy evale a ni lsohoc nad drag nigurd the a ,eooggurs itsndu tohtuhg to spsicuao neo yuo ciyt ouyr usjt ltos het remdas adh to haert rkeob rttpaname ahd uroy you you ahve whne sracedh sbceaeu. Soyr,r eyrve ady do ubt hitnk im' aosltm abuot uyo lslti hmi. Sltli oyu tnh'aev mih to iaang spokne. Abby whit riadrem a h'se onw. Olt heav you tath ikle ti ouy etrufu neeb ahtw onwdre htiw in touba a udowl. 01 esyar lats uoy ihm eht ot you were dnspe atth rtgnyi to wrohyt oeprv. Uyo wree layswa. Cna eb huohttg dan joyerun you yrlut caebem imh gnwor utb roepv htta you ot ewr,e meoeson woh of buota he no lvoe uoy rodpu. Os ludow droup uoy os eb. Urpod you rae os. .
.
A ertwi eomr you olt. Adn aveh dan rcko a praoe irtew lovne uyo utb resttda a nrwt'ee wy?)saal rpyteo iu(samt,obi ew. Epsbudlh,i oalg tbu ltlsi yet tno a tis'. Werot os oncut htta a ebifr fo rereca agrenmtih erwit lkie ddi isublph llcatencyhi) as 'ellw rfo utb o,ulrgma did ouy a oyu t(hey ahtt revne for dndeuos emda sossuiibnm rmo,aglu noec, a you. Ni ivssame reuy'o mcyonpa sde,xtie vrnee a in oyu paht rof mdinagei no miade saiocl rginowk nnoscutlgi a ceth mriaktegn. Eolv ti ouy. Ybircdeiln dna epiuvrspot msrat oury rea orswrkoce. Ldumoon ryou neim,acdp teh by ryou sbeauec krwo uryo llac - dise nwo htiw - ptmteanra of egt eplac foraeivt het rmof tyauracns oyu yuo ot. .
.
Sillt dmlonou aunrod is. He mmresu dan illw ihts 21 tbae be ecrcan. Amn retset eht lod on s'eh lbeevei an tc'na poeple. Sah teh odg gineb unpiroteta a eh fro ni ieappsht ilslt iebrdoohnhgo upppy teh geyern and. Salt eray edpass hmcar elhray ni. Esh hes deray was dna swa 81. Ni het lal tcsa nad tvlueoid so oelv seh het chmu oehrt faiylm avge. Uoy adn vmeo nad y'oud rofm bcka uoy deymosa nyc etommorsa ehr tiwh ehs jtus ntio it meak uyro ungeoh one reh oyu glno to ot yarzc aehdrs lievd okcsbl eht see emtnaatr,p neoc pedrismo now. Yzcra 'tis. Eno dgo eoghsrbin of teh dna met reh ryhela dpsa,se reaft i. . . Yhearl enamd. Aws thta hes yuo luflfil eomprsi. .
.
On ci??ty tcmcyolero the ibek ni hte dlso ew (a hknt!a)s. Aisnp onocd rwee' in ikogrwn eth tsill on. Fi no suhcr lbveiee yuo gyu gihh ifrly,eb in ot we got oohscl hte ahtt uhge dha cna hatt you a,riemdr. Tuo hnta siabeuv in be atth rusoeyfl ssle fo to an pdellu a eh netrdu dan you raye otu iloclacoh. Pnlisesirhaot ta nto y'uore odog tsduni kicgnip lhethya vrey sceni. Sigenl amnd uovye' ywa !stemi wn,o utb eerv edegagn rey'ou thta nbee ntah ephiapr ehrte. Aer bdiceerlni fo oyu lal istpveopru rneev voer a opugr wnnok ohw heav awy fsinedr fmor an ni u'yove. .
.
Edpe rgwhto wehli memneis apillescey dna arey jtus ailstdoe uoy nolmoud eht in nda yvu'eo adh in lga,neih ,nrtuaaieqn lsta. Ehva aegsm no nda svourai irendsf moyne a uoy and odeiv eorm nzgiama slitl rtasme wne kema tteill - tem htme aypl niyfiteeld ouy wtc,ith ouhtrhg indgo ti gesam vnee. Twah meor onyje yuo of esls ouy stress and od arf. .
.
A slti avhe a ngol 5;0 ew bfeeor tahn ehva 50 slmtoa we rmeo niroggw kbectu nad 001 miets. Sda saw niixegtc 73 a nda nitrngu litlte. Indog fiel ni rof and lal elik therse' eltitl rvoe cards a can so eb a tub fo lslti su sefel stre hcmu uoy ouy het liek liwl rae it snedp ti os nte'sdo vewhetar bgi het eth it tef,l mloienests fialym ikel okol. Ttah oobk nfiihs. Inspa go to. Het lal itivs ntsnincoet. Ginvli ufll itnacuteh 'ouyve ngoid oyu ptyoloaaglleci flei scaubee igenb amide a dulbi no ewrhaevt do can uoy lal nda soicla wnat peek oyu! eneb mycutnmoi uoatb yuro lgano ti. .
.
Dlo ew wya hiewl tlel oautb swih malsl e'dsh us abkc htat feli tfel paedrpt teh lduco i ehs yera nwto seh 17 rosrte maedred ni og heav so adn. .
.
I oyu elov. Ma uyo orf i ruftealg os. Uoy aegv eenvr up. Ouy pkte puginhs. It ibhrrelo, you htsi owse omes sscuces a ohw soytr ot dna ehfelrs uyo nloy rae huensoi euvivrsd. 'reew we no to fmro weetarvh 'wree reeh t,uo yoenj nad ti going kick sas onggi ot do uhmc os. Of ntenerouc ,nkdi be etnpita hte on waa,yls dan wlli ew eotsh we sa yaw nad iornfivgg. .
.
Loe,v.
N)wo by og (we lai ail.

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