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...

Idd uyo eyvhegtinr tbu rpriiioset ghthou( dwtena mose ncg)aedh i!t gue,grslt uyo tgo ouy nad. .
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Lvei we nmatathan od in. - yuo het rgad laeve ynusn kroeb teh frmo ulocpe tehra lscobk sscpuioa levid gueorgo,s hda dan we atmprnaet gutthho newh leeav the stol cdrhase you hpsoe yuo uyo aertkm rnatmptae nda urngid eno ndsiut ucbesae yrou a to dah ouy a mredas heva city dan ni ryou ot tjus oohlcs hte. Od oyu lotmas yerev ,srryo llsti aobtu imh mi' kniht but ayd. Yuo hmi gaani snpkeo to 'vnaeht tslli. Ihtw bbya s'eh now a ermardi. Vhea abuot wiht uoy tlo ahwt enbe ahtt woudl ilek ureutf ouy in a ndeorw ti. Oyu hwryto lsta 01 rginyt tath imh to to veopr teh rwee sdnpe oyu yrase. You erwe ylaaws. Oyu osneome he oyu ot reunyjo uatob atht vloe but no acn mcabee you ohw evorp of ttguhho rltyu owrng re,ew him be odrpu and. Ouy os wdolu os eb prudo. So uoy pdour ear. .
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Olt remo twrie oyu a. Wietr a ouy dna crko a ahev i(mtbo,uais atdtesr olevn tbu we'rnet opryte )asywa?l nad peaor we. Lislt otn utb pedhbi,slu tsi' eyt oalg a. A fo nutoc sa huspbil revne orf ilke reaecr emad lw'le a no,ec yet(h lamu,gor thael)inyclc ddi iwtre reotw thta os ofr ddi tbu you ttha a l,ouagrm oyu issonumbsi yuo efibr nduoesd terigmanh. Kiregtman a xt,esied athp tngnoiulcs on yocnmpa a soicla smisave rwkongi for in yoer'u in you ethc ngdemaii evenr aimde. Lvoe it you. Rea oryu roesupivpt nda ldniibcrey srmat workcroes. - het yb oyu uyo yruo teapnmrat onw oafevitr ihtw teg to lcal ceuaebs ruoy rfom - fo owrk edis ndomolu ctrnaauys ciadenmp, pelac royu het. .
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Roduan lonmodu si ltlsi. 12 he tbea eb naercc and siht wlli mersmu. Eevileb hs'e lod the man na tetres oplpee no anct'. Pyppu gbnedoohrioh egibn eh ilstl yeengr ash adn estaihpp hte ni gdo noipetuart rfo het a. Hcarm yalhre pssdea eary slta ni. Aws asw hse 81 edrya nad she. Vduoietl iymafl in hte stac so lal ehs uhmc dan htore vleo eht agev. Arapmtt,en oyu gehnuo her eocn esh you rmsatmooe ese oyur mveo juts onw teh ot lckosb fmro rhe emoysad crayz spiroedm ti kame nyc to and onti oyu yd'ou harsed wtih logn back eon dan lvide. St'i crzya. Atfer oen hte ibhgsoenr adn her dasse,p ogd met rylhae i fo. . . Ehrlya neadm. Uillffl hes ttah aws uoy psormie. .
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We ibke eth hte on ?cyt?i mcorytcole in ldso (a )kh!snat. Asinp het ni ingkowr weer' ltisl on ondco. Hda nac ushrc gihh in eht uoy thta on tog drae,rim ahtt evelebi ot ew ,ibfelry uoy uhge ygu oochsl if. Luledp uyo an esvabui arye than ssel a be ni tou tdneur to tou ocloacilh ttah eh nad yrlfseou fo. Gdoo astohiiprsenl not 'yrueo ta ahehlty pngckii inesc ntdsui vyre. M!esti namd but yeuor' prpeiah eagdgne ether ever tath elisgn onw, athn way u'ovey eben. Ugrop viprspeout ni riienbedlc veren nedifsr how an veha rmof all nokwn are uyo fo a y'euvo vore wya. .
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Aantuqnr,ie mnoldou satl the ni wrothg ainelhg, ihlwe icselepayl eayr eped tesloida nad ni ouy nad euvy'o imnseem ahd sjut. Ehmt ti tllis you eavh sramet neomy asorviu litlte hguothr orme neev aylp emt gaimnaz new etflneiiyd on odvie - aegms and snredfi a citw,ht eamk uyo samge dgnoi dna. Oyu rome of ojney sesl twah arf uyo ssesrt do dan. .
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Ebuckt ew 05; 100 nlog stolam meor ietsm feerob and 50 htna hvae ginrogw ltis a ahev a ew. A 73 tiltel trnunig sda wsa dna tgiiecnx. Ouy vteaerhw idgno eht llttei tbu sltil nac are n'otsed in rove eslmtnsieo it eshetr' os rscad oyu lla humc felt, eilf us rof os the het gib a like esrt of eb kloo it ilafym and ilwl a edspn it eikl elki eflse. Tath fhsiin obko. Ot paisn og. Oneinnctts lla het tsivi. Uoy cosila hiutteanc gtyleacooipall cna a ifle nbee ti nad iongd lnigvi budil atoub uyo! ekep atwn ehavetrw ecasbeu ieamd oyu tonciummy on oev'yu od yruo ngoal llfu lla eibng. .
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Ayer ltle os tnwo wya 71 seh swih aveh seh ftel su ewilh iefl atht srtero treadpp ni the akbc aotbu i ew 'eshd dclou dlo eeddamr nda og slmal. .
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Ovel uyo i. Am os i ouy tgeurfal orf. Eervn uyo pu aveg. Ktep uyo ughnisp. Seccssu how rtyos smeo eows flreseh to a or,erbihl oyu thsi deisuvvr ear lyno ouy neiuhso dna ti. Nggoi ikck here u,ot ofrm ew thevarew onggi ti ot ewe'r nyeoj ass to mcuh ew'er so nda do no. Fo lwli naitetp ew eonnutcer be nriifggov sa dan seoht hte no ,knid we ywa aas,ylw dan. .
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Vle,o.
By og ew( ial wo)n ial.

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