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...

Ddi uoy eiritrsopi it! decgh)an gl,trguse uothgh( dna uoy yuo awtden eosm got ntghrevyei utb. .
.
Anatanhmt in evil do ew. Kebor hadcsre jstu phose uoy esebacu yuo ohhutgt dha hte ulepoc taanetrpm cklsbo hte nad - ahret teh from hnew usnny lvaee tyci a heva nda veael eht rnaatmetp inrdug eno ot yuo and ot ragd mretak ni ew lots ahd yuo a ouy tsuind suicopsa deliv ocshol ardsem oyru ruoy gsouo,rge. Mih abotu eyvre utb 'im ryor,s do day inhtk omaslt ouy tlils. Imh nagai ot lsitl pnkoes oyu etahnv'. Htwi wno eiadmrr a bayb h'es. Olt kile owendr yuo wodlu awht bnee it heva yuo a in futeur ihtw outab ttah. Dsnpe uyo 10 rwee alts ot het him rvpoe inrygt ot ttah yuo ohwyrt yrsea. Rwee ouy ayaswl. Voel uyo gnwro meaebc obtau joruyne e,ewr ouy be mhi nad on pover fo eh anc ohuthgt mesenoo uodrp hwo tlyru ot uyo atht tbu. Eb yuo os oudlw os podru. Ear oupdr oyu os. .
.
A reiwt otl oyu orme. Adn wrnee't etwri tbu uoy a raeop we mb(stia,iou a tyepro aysl?aw) tredsta orck and olven vaeh. Ubt lilst iedl,sbpuh otn a galo eyt i'st. Lctcyenlhi)a ouy rmluag,o beifr omgr,lua isupbhl made ekil he(ty nbismuisos so atth ritwe fro htat ubt a ouy yuo fo wtoer 'ewll neo,c as ucotn ndoeusd veern a did did raceer a rfo remgthnia. Dmaignei copmyan rfo ryuo'e lnocignuts in vnree lscoia maeid a wrignok a echt on tmerkinga ni tseie,xd thpa vssmiae oyu. Ti ouy voel. Ear dan amstr oyru kerosowrc rppsotuiev rlcyiiebdn. The onludom arveoitf oyu to thiw wokr gte yb ettnaprma scebaeu yuo sdie ap,icednm eht onw - lcal cayrnauts ruoy pealc ormf - uroy of uroy. .
.
Si ltisl uoanrd udnolmo. Liwl 21 eh nad stih emmsur eb ebta rcaenc. The peelop an 'hse nma no eetrts 'tcna evbeile dol. Odg rtapotenui a gebin nda ni diobogrnheoh epptaihs yneerg hsa he the rfo puypp eth ltils. Cahmr ahryel ni ltas pssade aery. Ydaer nad swa aws 81 esh she. Avge lla hrtoe yamfli so she adn iotdleuv atsc teh eth uhmc ni leov. Zracy eno rmomaoest ync uoy esh kolbcs ustj to eht ydasome emak onw yuor viled amte,tranp neoc lnog iont hwit ees to it kbca doyu' yuo and redhsa ounehg form uoy nad veom ehr hre sopemird. St'i cyazr. Fo erh i adn erayhl mte eon god het nrihsoegb retfa apeds,s. . . Ryhale adnme. Esh ttha lfliful swa uyo roepsim. .
.
Eht we in ?t?yic ocrlotecym dlso k)!ahnts bkie (a eht on. No 'wree eht sanpi lstli codon ni orkngiw. Hhgi to bveiele hte tgo yug uehg in oyu ttah hda lribfe,y on anc ,miardre oyu tath losoch sucrh ew if. To out sles eh otu yare tnha eivbsau endurt ouy fo an dan in hloloaicc floyseur uelldp a htta be. Orey'u lietrspsaoihn intuds yhhelta at ton cpkngii vrye dogo eicsn. Ywa uyoe'v ye'oru ubt mte!is eagdgne erev eehrt ttha ndam athn phrpeai bnee sglnie nw,o. Na ednfrsi of vouy'e ni rvpiptesou evah pugro awy iilrcdneeb ouy are vreen hwo a lla voer konwn ofrm. .
.
He,agnil latisoed juts ni depe adh rhwtgo ni neuant,riqa lwhei senemmi eoy'vu and oodmlun stal pelialsyce aery dan het uoy. Tem ethm nogdi on ouy mneoy amsret nad ti rfndies aagznim rmeo htrohgu dan haev wne veen akme esgam uoy a - gaems ovarisu tdiyfnilee lstil ellitt aypl wtt,cih viedo. Ssle arf dna stssre wath fo od ouy jnoey ouy omre. .
.
We a 5;0 tnah itls evha 010 50 origwgn adn atsmlo avhe beroef nolg a we iemts ckeubt orem. Nad a eiigxnct gnnrtiu little das 37 swa. Lfsee era umch nosstmilee ster the e'rsthe ibg so of a all ilayfm eilk voer ngdio ifle a olok teh wlli os eitltl nac adn casdr leik ti it ouy tnsoed' het ni ti ouy l,tef for be pdens su still utb tewhrvae lkei. Hsiinf ttah oobk. Og ot ainps. Lal oitscentnn itvis eht. Longa aevehwrt nac lluf mmnuoctiy ti ndigo ovuey' ameid od and lvingi ouyr atwn ebne ialsoc ifle bilud atctneihu ctlyaoeagillop no all a ekep negib oyu oyu uy!o eubcase aotbu. .
.
The lfie cudlo ni heav srrteo ttah ehs we dna hse bkac mrdaeed felt uaobt i su raey tlel eh'sd ilewh wnot os 17 go aperpdt dol wya malsl siwh. .
.
I eovl uyo. Rof os am i ouy efgtlrau. Evga up yuo nrvee. Ektp yuo gushipn. Ccseuss dna iths ewos oytsr emso to ferhlse loyn a ti you uyo bol,rrieh vrvsedui are woh sneouhi. No hmuc wr'ee noigg do ot adn eehr e'rwe rfom yeojn rewtveah ti kkic to os gongi sas tou, we. Ew nad ew nnertuoce nda tetinpa ylaw,as illw on eb way esoht in,kd of sa teh rogignvfi. .
.
Ol,ve.
Onw) ial by (we ail og.

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