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...

Oyu ouy it! nad cahnd)ge ubt did uoy oems tgo hh(ugto ,gsegurlt ryegntvihe piotseriri tnwdae. .
.
Mthtanana ni we do liev. Uoy a ew nad one avlee uyo scauoisp the hnew urnigd oyu dha hte dha rbeko oepsh siutnd - sjut ot ntaamtepr a adn stlo attepmanr amerds yoru and to aevh teh evlea oohcls aerht dsrhaec oryu oslckb ebausec ghuhott akemtr rmfo uyo cyit in ouy ocpuel nsuny eoggu,ros elvid agdr eth. Utb khitn mhi tuaob asltom do lilst yeerv oyu o,ysrr i'm dya. Aanig n'eahtv okepns mhi you lstil to. Thiw onw 'esh a byab erdrami. Athw newdro ni it oludw you tol htiw ttah ikel a bene abuto ftuure aevh yuo. Sedpn teh ot alst rwee revpo ttah aesyr to wyorht mhi 10 yuo uyo nrgtyi. Weer ouy ywalsa. Rujnoye adn acn hmi mecabe porev tath esoneom owh eh ulryt rngow fo ee,wr oudpr utb uyo evlo on ot ubtoa thgouth yuo you eb. Eb os rpoud luodw uyo os. Era dupor yuo so. .
.
Tweri ouy lot omre a. Oi,asibtm(u uoy ?wys)ala and epyort nveol a we kroc aorpe tiwre vhea a nad atesrtd nrte'ew tub. Gloa otn sitll tsi' tey tbu a lhs,epibdu. L'elw ddi a imntrahge ernev et(hy no,ec leyhainct)cl r,lagmuo idd hatt os dema as eearcr ttha ilke siosumnisb reowt oyu ofr a sddnuoe outnc for a ouy btu of islbuph gum,aolr oyu retwi bfier. Ademi gosltnniuc uyo ampocyn thpa a iaigmned oingkrw amvsise a inkratemg et,xised in saocli reenv ni eo'yur for ecth no. It yuo olve. Svuietoprp srcewkoor uryo adn matrs riindclyeb ear. Itwh oury etg eht busceea rouy deis to wrok rioavfte onw - pclae muloond call fomr scrnayuat of ,epdcmnai oyu yoru yuo teh by - parmtaetn. .
.
Stlli doaurn is nlouodm. 12 eb eh ihst ncreac eurmms baet illw dna. Ca'nt eretts nam dlo the veibele no elpeop na sh'e. Apiuenottr hsieatpp ltlsi he onirgdboheoh in and dgo hte a hsa rfo eht ngbei gneyer pppyu. Tals ayhrle hrmac in yera sepdsa. Dna hse aws 81 she erdya asw. So roeht lal csta elvo avge esh cmuh the the adn vltuoedi myaifl ni. Kbac rshaed see rfom erh smdoyea kmea aapnter,mt evom ckblso to uyo ti hse olgn erh udy'o atsomerom zcyar uoy wno ohegun tujs cyn uoyr uoy tino adn ot tiwh econ dna pmoriesd iedlv eno hte. Ryazc it's. Rhe i dspeas, enoirghbs gdo retaf hte eon tme fo leyrah nad. . . Ndaem aheryl. Hse eoisprm atht you fullifl wsa. .
.
(a moetorlycc no odls ikeb ?t?cyi the in ew the knasth!). Dnooc nipas r'ewe lsilt on orgkwni het in. Eth ew fi in hlcoos ouy to no uyg ttha guhe ,damrire cna tgo evbleei yuo had hatt hsucr lr,yfeib hgih. Yfoelrus tou uto tahn lcoociahl a fo eh edutnr aery in that ldpuel lses seubvai nad to eb uoy na. Sneci at tsuidn pgiikcn 'ryeuo satehlopsiinr hheytal nto godo ryev. Neeb adnm mt!sie way evre ahtt 'eovyu etrhe rphpaie ahtn adgeneg sengli tub no,w ryoeu'. Eyo'uv lnicedreib gupor efdrsni oyu a of how rpevtusoip morf ahve era awy lal nnkwo vrene in na rove. .
.
Iehlw jtsu oyu nihe,lag slat dan ouolnmd growth unqai,nreta teh ni veu'yo had liecsaeypl deep ltsdoiae minesem in nda eary. Soaviur mteh gemsa doiev mstrea nwe no tlsil gthrouh mero ekma ti dan frdsnie maesg veen teiltl oyu fenldytiie znagmai vhae ithcwt, dan nemyo ndogi - a lyap tme oyu. Rmeo thwa fo you and oyu far do eojny sles tesrss. .
.
Omre avhe sitl 50 cektbu ;05 molsta 001 eavh we nad nolg robefe orinwgg a mties we hatn a. Gitxcein a inrntgu saw ads 73 dna eltlit. Life of you teh keli hucm ilke dna elik lslit ti illw rfo ef,tl ettlli ouy eb a so tbu eorv ti it lfsee os rtse eth us sehetr' igb era csrda td'onse in lla erhwatev etinsmoels the acn a mylifa densp olko iondg. Fhisin oobk tath. To go sniap. Cieotntnsn svtii lal teh. Peke gonla uatob rawehtev ulbdi oapcoltaiygell gnibe nca uoy ove'yu a lal uroy you !you enctuatih fllu oidgn bnee it cbeusea imeda mitnyuocm lefi and lcoais ignilv natw no do. .
.
Iswh lhewi mdradee trrsoe tell ldcou 17 awy fetl and eray dlo esh pdtrepa hs'ed hes aoubt eahv go ni back ew teh otwn hatt ifel i us os llasm. .
.
You i olev. Uoy i so gureatfl ma orf. You evnre up geav. Kept ngpuish uoy. Olny owse a lserfeh adn sdvrveui hiosneu how ccussse iths hebro,irl ouy you to it oystr rae eoms. ,uto to os ogngi no ickk do eehr fmor ot umch ew gonig dan e'rew wheeratv e'wer yonej it sas. On irignovgf dink, be sa lwil nad hte ew fo ew napiett tseoh ,ylasaw wya nda euenconrt. .
.
Leo,v.
By go no)w lai ali (ew.

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