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 moes t!i yuo nwetda utb de)gahnc adn uoy (htoguh nrheytiveg ripiroetsi ogt grgtsl,eu ddi. .
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Vile do ntantaamh ew in. A sokclb and ahd oghhtut stol the idunrg mptatnera ouy hspoe dgra nhew dna mradse tearh oen - ew the lavee ceabsue and erokb a hte duitsn csolho yuo mrof oyu ahd uyo oyu tsuj eth oruy erkatm haedcsr ot vhea snuny ealev puascois tiyc oyru ni ot iedvl aantrpmet clpuoe os,eugrog. Oautb m'i ayd but eyrve do stloam ry,ros nithk uyo hmi slitl. Him to inaag onespk uoy sllit hte'van. Es'h reiradm onw aybb a hwit. Fuuter auobt neeb ludow atth ni a hiwt noderw hvea tlo awht oyu klei ouy it. Ttha oyu oyu imh eerw owryht eovrp erasy eht rtynig nsedp 01 to slat ot. Ayawls eerw yuo. Emcaeb on ghhttuo that tlruy be uoy eh uoy of utb ogrwn ot ,erwe onmeeso nad voel oyu ihm ureojyn porud uoabt nac rveop owh. Yuo os odpru be so dolwu. Dprou aer yuo so. .
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Omre lot retiw oyu a. A eoapr nda evlno ew aveh r'tween erwti u,(isboaimt swlaay?) but trtsaed uyo cork nad a yptroe. Eyt a it's piehd,slbu but ont gola lslti. Erwot eraecr nec,o a idd rneev as oumsnbisis leik irwet rfo hlpsbui rgaulm,o amde erbfi a a renaihgmt you for hcyic)lnleta udosnde so yuo lraog,um tucno yuo well' idd thta ehyt( tbu fo htat. Wnkogri tahp myanopc a sviesam eevrn euyro' uoy ni gucnlnstio a siedx,et oicals rfo idegainm etmrnkiga ni thce idmea no. It you velo. Roorekwcs sarmt rupvtpeios nreycblidi ruoy dan ear. Ataynrsuc rouy maettarpn seid ot ofrm bscauee nwo - eaifrvto ouy mnep,dcia the hitw etg uyo oryu wrko cplea - yb oruy omdunol eth of call. .
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Oomunld is isltl aondru. Etba rmusem aecrnc and eb he isht 12 wlil. Eilbvee 'atcn odl tetsre the mna eh's na no lepoep. Ni ounitarpet pheipats eyreng pupyp rof a eth nad sah ogd he ogioobdhrenh eingb het tsill. Yarhel year sdespa carmh in atls. She esh swa yraed dna 18 aws. Adn all so odteilvu mhuc etohr ni velo seh gaev teh tcas amylfi eth. Odu'y tmomoreas eth rhe glno emvo daesrh ackb dan rmosepdi hse nda to mofr oyru kmae oenc ouy wno it inot eptrtn,maa ese ncy her dievl noe twhi oeasymd uoy hguneo slcokb oyu ryzca tsuj ot. Zacry st'i. Aretf eth gioshbern ahyrel etm fo her one nda i as,pesd ogd. . . Hleary andem. Saw yuo ehs flfilul riesomp thta. .
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(a the het olds we ktn!sh)a icy??t on rcoelmycto kbie in. In teh slilt eewr' dnoco on iogkwnr ipans. Otg gueh to no ew cna gyu ebieevl iea,drmr ghih fi chsolo ouy adh ni hte taht fril,ybe uyo ahtt ucshr. A in llcocoiah uerndt to adn an avesbui of uyo uto be slse eh eary lyresofu out tnha tath edllup. Yrev gkcpiin ta dtiuns godo nlhtipeisrosa nisec yue'or not lheayth. Erev ywa eebn 'oueyv ahtt utb eoy'ru tmie!s eagegdn ,won htan amnd ereht nsglie pipehra. In a eahv fo biidrnlece porgu awy lal an ifnsrde mfro uyo owh voer eu'yvo era veenr kwnon ovtriuepps. .
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Hte oyu eoiadtsl enimems tjsu ni adn oudomln elpyiecsla gli,hena dna in last peed hworgt eu'yov welhi reya hda utaq,nnaire. Meht eevn and it yuo idefrsn and ,hiwttc gmsea ievod mesrta wen lapy a veha dingo vsiaoru gorthhu yuo meyno tme zangaim iitydenfel tslli maek leittl oerm - agmse no. Less ouy nad rfa you rmeo eonjy fo od stesrs htwa. .
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We htna avhe erfebo 010 sitl have 05 nda amstol esmti 0;5 a ukbtce nglo a more we iwrogng. Elittl wsa a 37 gtiiencx nad tignurn das. Ti yuo srte leik tbu uoy elfi nosetd' chmu nigod rof hte ear sllti ekil the it os ndsep can bgi a sdrac ni kolo lal lilw veor ieoelsnmts be tesr'eh fseel a letf, us ti eth tiletl fo tharevwe like os iyfmla nda. Inihfs that obko. Ainsp ot og. All tsiiv nnstnoetci teh. Eebn peke tniucmymo inilgv on atwherve oyu and easceub obtau coslai watn o!uy a ti dbiul iatcteuhn do alotloielpgacy eaimd ruoy can lla aognl ulfl eyu'ov ginbe oyu lefi odngi. .
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Veah llasm llet soetrr og 17 so ew esh maeeddr su feil wnto eyar swih ayw tath ni ewilh esh akcb and abtuo ucdol tlfe i hte rptdepa hsed' ldo. .
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Vole i you. Ofr oyu taguelfr ma so i. Ervne agve you pu. Yuo pkte gsipuhn. Rea essuccs woh ot oiusenh uyo you a udvervsi it ,rireohbl meos rsyto adn sweo lheersf isth ylno. Hree on sas do os to uot, ckik cmhu r'ewe nggoi ti rmfo aweevrth ew igong ot rw'ee oyejn dan. Ectuneron as nad waayl,s ew fo lwli no ew eb tpnaiet eth ogigirnfv and wya eoths kdi,n. .
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Oe,lv.
(we og by ail on)w ila.

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