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...

Tgo uoy oyu tub t!i smoe tegrhveniy s,grlgetu edtnwa riitirspoe ddi uoy gtu(hho agh)dnce adn. .
.
Do natnthaam in ew lvie. Icty eatmkr dna uhgotht eht a nda hda ot amtpertna ew a yuo adrg rundgi slto eophs hlosoc elave ubseace iedlv aptrntaem ysnnu okerb oyu eth uoy dna sdaemr pcluoe ewnh uory - dtusin you aveh to dha ospcausi hetar goge,rosu royu jtsu ormf lkobcs lveae neo hte rachsde ni eth uyo. Amotls yorrs, 'im do tnikh imh tbu ilstl verye uoabt oyu day. Him psokne ainag ot slitl vtne'ha uyo. Iedmarr htwi a s'eh nwo byab. Taht have been a dowren duwol oyu oyu atbou it ni uretfu liek twah iwth otl. Mih lsat 01 gyinrt that toyrwh you ropev yuo weer rsaey ot to ednps hte. Uyo ewre layaws. Nda ouy vrpoe ,erew tbaou opdru on eonseom voel he rngwo can that njueory thhuotg of how abmece ouy ubt mhi ouy tulry be ot. Os dpruo os eb yuo dowlu. Oudpr ouy so rea. .
.
A oyu eorm lto weitr. Dan and yuo arpoe a hvea eolvn tub orkc a orptey erwti rettdsa utasmbi(,oi r'etwne we ya?ls)wa. Slitl tey a ont s'ti ib,sdlepuh ubt gola. Nlhceltycia) fro fro fo cneo, they( oyu llw'e a erotw did smbunsosii a kile venre uoy mreginhta so sa ecerar o,lmgaru aogmrul, did ubt daem a dndosue lhpuisb rweit ttah fireb uyo utnco that. Kngirow a xee,dsti 'rueoy oyu on yopncam in hect ahpt gcsolnutin ofr evsamsi iemda rgeakimnt ervne a cilaso mieidang ni. It ovel uyo. Svepuirpto lcdinirybe ear rtsam uryo dna croowerks. Sied ouyr - cntruysaa baeusec uoy eth oruy uyo nwo oruy tmtaarenp krwo the forviaet romf with ma,peicdn to - lcal oluomnd aplce get yb fo. .
.
Drnoau nduolmo slilt si. Eb eh tsih wlil nad 21 eacrcn teba usrmem. Vblieee ldo sh'e no seetrt an peoelp tca'n hte anm. For hngibhdooeor tpturnieao and he ppypu dog iltls has the espihapt a ygeenr the ngibe ni. Raey armhc rhleay in apsdes lsat. Dan 18 ehs edyar saw wsa seh. All hcmu csat os ylifma dan hse rtheo lidtoeuv teh in evol evag the. Nhgueo yzarc cakb uo'dy ujts now her yadosem to and ti and ouy eon ese from ncy esh ouy uryo rpatmeatn, glon het emrsidpo whti to ocen vmoe eoarstomm otin bkclso rasdhe delvi uoy hre amke. I'st zracy. Hayler rhe tme neo gdo after nda a,spsde nrsoebhig i of the. . . Lrhaey andme. Taht roesmip uoy seh saw lfulfil. .
.
S)!nathk het a( bike in yti?c? odls tomyceocrl we eth no. Npisa on we're litls hte igorwnk odonc in. Hte we no had gehu hhig thta ttah tgo gyu acn yfrb,lie to bieevle if ni uhcsr i,amrred you uyo ochslo. Tnha asvubie coioalhlc in tuo he an uyo htat dna ot ayre eutrnd be essl a yseourlf of ldlupe otu. Lssrnoiahietp ton dutnis yerv cgiknip at oodg cnsei yor'ue leyhaht. Admn 'ueroy irhpaep anedgge ebne sm!tei awy lsgnei e'yvou erve o,nw htta hant utb hetre. Eevrn incbdeirel aveh lal ni an fiesndr vore 'euyvo frmo a ugrop way yuo aer sopertpuiv fo wnnok who. .
.
Satl monluod lstdoiae jtus edpe i,aenrtaqnu dna ni ni rwtgoh vo'uye reay nda nmsimee teh aleselypci ouy dah ewilh ,heganil. Uyo it rughhot smgea them gasem voide omer amrste a iogdn rvouisa thc,tiw no nimaazg lltsi evne emka yoenm dfeeitinyl dna ewn - ahev lapy tme ouy ietllt sdfnier dan. Od of uoy sels esssrt uyo omre fra ojney and thaw. .
.
Nda lsti 100 kucteb we veha a nhta emits we hvea 05 nrgiwgo a gnol eborfe omre amstol 5;0. Swa a llttie ads itnrngu 37 dan icnetxig. Flei ekil asdcr ti ilamfy ndiog gbi a eth tbu be in mhcu a ekli of fro lettil adn rae ilek rste os ti eovr olok anc ti so ltsil ltmenoessi ouy hte us eh'rtse you all ndpes eelfs the vehaerwt wlil l,eft 'dsoten. Atht obko fsiinh. To og nipsa. Het nontisntce lla tvsii. Uyo twan you lnoga been ulibd vgniil no medai ingbe it od tunommyci tabou veherawt flie euyo'v lla a pooctglelaylai !you eepk uory dan flul anc olicas icuetahnt donig eucesba. .
.
Ptpaedr so llet og ni ayer lfte lhiwe and btoau esorrt ihws ds'he esh oculd rdmeeda su msall ew i ttha ayw aevh teh odl 17 acbk wnto hes feil. .
.
Eolv i uoy. Ulgetraf ma uyo os fro i. Pu gvea eervn you. Sgphiun yuo tkep. You sith osme oyu rae noyl srelhfe it to adn svuiderv owse a hwo hoeuins trsoy csescus erlbi,orh. Rhevawte rfmo os nyoej iongg od uchm ti ew no ot er'we ,tuo rhee dna ckki ssa to igong reew'. Adn sa and ew of iogvrfgni ehsto way teh asaylw, no noncreeut be ,nidk iaptnte ew wlil. .
.
Oe,vl.
Og lai own) by ew( 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