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...

Uoy yhtgenveir netawd uyo ouy ddi )cagehnd tgo (ghhtou emso ubt eu,gstgrl nda ti! tipsireori. .
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Lvie ni od ew anahmnatt. Sipauosc we rehat ot - yrou the nad a a oen oyu ldevi in hda yuro nsyun uyo rtaekm eohps rduign peuolc looshc taaenrpmt mfor eobkr clskob het ot meaaprttn tlso ujst leeav eht dna rgad ouy esdarhc whne grus,oego rsdame eevla eth ouy ahve uoy hgutoht tnduis ueecsab dah iyct adn. Tsmlao ihm vreye tubao btu od nkith tilsl orr,ys you day i'm. Lilts ot ouy him nokeps naiga vtna'he. Iwht a he's armrdei nwo ybba. Twhi klei hwta heva ouy a tuboa ni olt erwdno htat bnee tufuer ti yuo uodlw. Het uoy 01 ot eerw tals peovr mhi ot htat nsped rywtoh uyo yrting rsaey. Wree you saywla. Eeacmb utb be of nca pveor lrtuy no adn uyo ot you him ovel tuoab wnogr w,eer rpdou you goththu oejuyrn how taht eh eoenoms. Os ropud be oyu so owudl. You rae odurp so. .
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Otl uoy riwet a oemr. Arpeo dna but yuo and aly)?asw orck a soaumt(ii,b retewn' wteri hvae ew a enlov esartdt pteoyr. Tno agol peluih,sdb a utb its' stlil yet. Orf oenc, btu silpuhb a le'lw a ouy ribfe rfo uoy erenv nuedods like os emda uotnc cycatniehl)l noisssbium ihmanregt wrtei tweor you htta a as of ddi (yteh mrlgo,ua ddi ttha erreca guor,mal. Svmieas a a orwkgni ni tahp no kminarget ni amedi tche never for icsola toslguinnc onpymac ueory' imianged yuo iesdxet,. Olve ti you. Aer nda uvosietprp crroksewo dbeyilincr ruyo asmtr. Beceusa - onw kwro uyo by yrou rouy yuro the ot rmatepnta wtih eifatovr egt allc - ytsuncraa the unodmol uyo mia,epndc rofm eacpl fo eids. .
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Audnor si llsit omdolun. Eaccrn be hits nda 12 ateb iwll he resmmu. The man elpoep s'eh no old evileeb an sretet 'atnc. Neibg hte a ergney has psaiehpt adn ni behnoirodhog lsilt teh ponrauttie god pyupp rof eh. Arey lehray asesdp tlsa mcrah in. 18 dan dayer wsa seh saw esh. Elvo uchm and vgea throe all os eltivdou afilmy eht she tcas in the. Cabk ti ormf hse psiodmre own and ese vmoe rcayz noe hre oyu esdrha teh lngo ametta,rnp ecno yuro sutj eamk ivedl 'uoyd cny lbsock you tnoi twih adn uoy ot enoguh tsoarmmoe oydemas ehr ot. Zayrc 'sit. Hte s,epasd rhe iergohnsb afrte nad yrhael i ogd oen mte of. . . Deanm yahlre. Was mrsopie fiuflll htat ehs you. .
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Hte trmeclooyc nkahts)! (a ni het we no sodl keib tyc??i. Eht rwee' wnrkogi stlli on ocnod ni psnia. Uyo ermarid, htta atth no teh if we beevlei ,lrifyeb nca got lhoosc hgih cshur guy yuo had to in ehug. In nad hioocclla netdru an eb tuo ahtt he nhta a of uoy uldlep arye to out rousefyl ssle avuseib. Udnsti at sicne odgo lhyetha pisosrnaehlit tno gpiickn oy'uer ryve. Dmna btu eevr oey'ur !mseti 'ueyvo ttha yaw seilng eeanggd eehtr anth o,wn ehipapr nbee. Of wya revo dfneris yue'ov ouy ciibdereln psruotevpi ougpr ehva vneer a ni ohw wknon na all ormf are. .
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Ign,elha hte rgwoth oondlum tsuj lhwie dna ni yasiellpce ni ositedla niauntaer,q dha tasl uoy nad eienmms vouye' ryea dpee. Met ehva nad a layp yuo - ouy segam them atmers asegm tltile ti odiev nda eltfnyeiid wiht,tc idong uasrvio emor ohgtuhr emka edsfnri money nzigama new vnee no sltli. Nda rfa oemr od ssestr tahw of sels onyej yuo uoy. .
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Slit omslat iworgng nad ew lnog heav ew 50; hatn heav 001 50 a roem a obrfee smeti cetkbu. Ntgruni 73 dna ngtixice ads lieltt aws a. Cuhm tlilet for efil het btu eovr uyo elik kile e'erths it gib the d'etnos a esdpn rea feels erts lef,t stmiolesen dan us a elki lislt nca lla cdars eth so iwll oolk you eb it lyfaim ni rvatewhe it fo dnigo so. Snhfii htta okbo. Go ot pansi. Ottcninens ivits eth lla. Ollgectpaoylia a on gnivli heervwat social dan it anc aimed nalgo toabu ogdin peek oyu! od uitcmmnyo lflu ibeng secaebu yuo ouy ntwa all enbe 'uveoy teichatnu ryou feil ludib. .
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Ni dperpta etll ttah lhiwe wotn nad seh 'ehds eht seh 71 us flte bakc ryea aobtu go i raedmde allms ldo awy lucod ew whsi elfi ortesr haev so. .
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Love ouy i. Ma os ofr ouy i fatluerg. Renev oyu gvae pu. Suiphgn you tkpe. Adn ear ewso a elhsefr el,hobirr loyn oesm owh tryos isht ssuscce ot oshuien yuo ti svievrdu ouy. On do ot ew mfor kick ngigo ti ot chum ewer' ogign ssa noyje adn 'were herawvet reeh os ,otu. Of gnoigfvir wya ,swlaay taienpt dnik, we ew on ohtes and wlli eth be nda ountnerec as. .
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Voel,.
Ali by won) ail go e(w.

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