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...

Gtuho(h urgtslg,e dnatew ehgeivtrny did t!i uoy rrpisieoit uyo dna smoe uoy utb got aghndc)e. .
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Ni levi od ew mnnhaatat. Ekmrta obkre nudrgi the etarh hte a earsmd uthhogt stlo eecaubs ucolpe mtnatepra in uyo leaev dha to you ytci evlae you ehav isnutd unsny nad vidle morf hte and oeuro,sgg nad csupaosi yuo adgr - dah the we ksbocl adhsecr yuo olhsoc wnhe tremnatpa a pehso oen utsj ouyr yuor to. Hmi litsl ktnih maolts od oyu ady btu tobua yro,rs veyer m'i. Ihm sonekp ot uoy sltli hevnta' aigan. E'hs amrried byba hiwt a nwo. Nebe ouy hatt wrodne a keil ti ruufte uoabt in lot tawh vhae owdlu ihtw oyu. Hmi epsdn ttha to itgryn ewre tlsa rpevo uoy to ouy ohwtry ysare teh 10. Alwyas rwee oyu. Evrpo utlyr pduor to owh acn thhougt eh and be eaembc ruoejny auotb evol ouy ee,wr nomeeso taht on of but mih wnorg oyu ouy. Os so udlwo oyu eb pdrou. Udorp era os oyu. .
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Tierw eomr uyo lot a. Ew'retn rtiew vahe a ptyoer utb we vleon adn a yuo sy?a)awl stedrta paroe (ubt,ioaims rock adn. Otn a lago ti's ubt tllis eyt ,udiepblsh. Edam frbei htta isbussinom a fo ofr ouy ll'we enver yuo a btu ddesuno leik uyo atth so arrece idd (hety a woert did otunc ngtiemrha fro wtrei cellncit)yha al,mugor sa oc,ne gumrl,ao hupilsb. A 'yoreu daiem in atph mgaenidi uyo cialso ni no ymonacp thec miakgetrn rfo evsaims ontiscugln xidt,ese reenv ognikwr a. Oevl ouy ti. Oorkcrwes byldiceinr uyro are and ruvseppoti smatr. Ryuo ides - etg eth c,pmdaeni nmoudol teh romf ruyo auancytsr krow efavoitr onw fo subecae - ihtw oury llac lpcea yb emntarapt uoy you to. .
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Oomnlud doanru si ltlsi. Nad iths rusemm wlil eh atbe ecncar 21 be. 'she dlo pelpoe esrtet nma the no tnac' ieevbel an. Dog a bengi ppypu reneyg hdenrgoioohb eth hte hsa rof ni lltsi eh opnttuirea ahspptie dan. Ni mhrca aslt eary alyrhe spesda. Aws ehs dna aryed asw hes 81. Nda ni rhote hmcu eth hte lla mafily aegv tiuvldoe seh so asct velo. Oyu yuo drhsae eht eovm ujst dna fomr delvi her nda onw nlog ees slokbc tnio eno uoy'd to to mkea trapamtne, yuro yuo cny ti hes reh noce rmmseoaot omsayed ckab ihwt azrcy ompderis nheguo. Crazy ist'. I nda nigreshob met hre p,ssaed neo odg fo eth rafet eylhra. . . Mdnae rhyela. Wsa that hes uflillf uoy oipemsr. .
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Het yrlotccemo n)atks!h teh a( ekib ni ew no ?i?ytc osdl. Sinap tsill re'we eth nrigkwo no dcoon ni. Rly,bfei dha eveibel hgih no fi eht hatt rdmiare, that eugh to hucrs cholos uyo we otg nca ni ouy uyg. Htta anth erdutn to yurleofs lses puledl be a ouy locaihlco ni easbuiv uot nda tou an eh ryae of. Eatyhhl nsuidt ecnis lhrtaeospsiin ta ur'oye oogd rvey ipginkc otn. Evy'uo but eben gnaedeg dnam raehpip nhat way atht isglen now, vere sime!t yrou'e eehtr. Hwo hvae you usippverot reenv of rdnfsei lecedrniib a nwonk ni way mfro na oey'uv all puogr are voer. .
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Ahd in uoy hte and rtanu,qnaei in veou'y eepd aery ismneme tjus ohgrtw eliwh satl cpeliasyle nad hga,ieln duonlom eitsalod. Tlsli more a iondg aouisvr yuo ypal oevdi rmseta mngzaia ti iytelenfdi adn adn kaem eahv nyeom c,whtit mgesa temh turhgoh lteitl - tem no msgea wen ouy neve fdnseri. Od uoy fo ssle jyeon raf ssrste ouy eorm what nda. .
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A atlmso 5;0 nhta oemr ew dna tsmie 010 have ebreof onrggwi veha 05 we a ekucbt silt nlgo. Wsa 73 urnigtn nad xtneigic ads a lletit. So eht ni f,tle ikel llits a anc be flaymi era e'stdon teiltl eifl ti nda illw eht kiel oemtsniels t'eehrs eself loko nigod cumh the igb a it srcda it tub fo erov tres tahwveer lla klie you us os psnde yuo ofr. Bkoo fsinhi htat. Ot napis og. All istvi teh ntcestonni. Want dogni idmae anc oyu saciol on eneb uoyr 'yuveo ceebaus bouat oypgeltallocia a nad uy!o lufl do uyo otmmycuin ntehuacti heaervwt nigilv igebn eepk feli it all diulb algno. .
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Su ayw ryae hwsi i dan madeedr setror back lfie os in taepdpr taht hes s'ehd letl left hte 17 aotub she dlo wnto we iwehl go lsaml ehav doulc. .
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Lveo i uyo. Ma ultegraf i so oyu rof. Uoy rneev up aevg. Snipghu uoy petk. Yuo woh nad ti snueoih ewos a sesuscc yuo to era only rvdeusiv htsi sflhere moes styro brolhei,r. Od ti ew gogni r'eew ot w'eer sas so njoye on rfmo oging adn heer mhuc kkci to,u verewtah to. Iggfonivr etnrcenuo of otshe pttneia sa the ew be l,aywsa lwil no ew adn dna di,kn ayw. .
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V,leo.
(ew on)w ail go ail yb.

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