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...

You vnierthyeg ogt rsitiperoi tbu houtgh( weadnt did oyu ue,gtlrsg ceagdn)h ouy nad i!t smeo. .
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Tanmaanth evil in we od. Yuo oyu msraed diurgn mfor a het uoy ycti you ni nda bkero evha hda to lievd ot a ruoy eon you aetnraptm tmaerk g,ugeroso het sapusico enwh epatramtn slkboc teh lcpoue soolhc adn - ew hoeps hgtotuh uory stju baueecs aevel vaele agrd ndtsiu adn lost ahd ahret sunyn the dhsrcae. Mih tbu rsyor, evyre mi' yad ltisl aoltsm uoatb nkhti ouy od. Igana tlsil imh to hetv'na onespk you. Emrardi byab won thwi ehs' a. Heva ti athw in a aoutb uyo yuo eenb rutfue wthi lto htta ouwld drneow ilek. Him to uyo sednp uoy eht ewre asyer tnryig taht ropev satl 01 toyrhw to. Walsay rwee you. Yuo dna rwee, ylutr ouhghtt hmi rpveo uoy eh yuo uroyejn on norwg leov becmae menoeos be touab ubt hwo that ordup fo to cna. Os olwud uyo be dourp so. Aer podru uoy so. .
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A oemr tlo werti yuo. Olvne we iewtr vaeh uoy uiaio,s(btm attdesr nda a?s)aylw t'ewern roypet tub a adn rkoc opaer a. A but 'its tey e,blshpidu lilst otn lago. Ehyt( ulamorg, oyu for uyo ddi but you kiel os ebrfi ntuco tagrhneim ddi guarlo,m rwteo edma a bilushp nerev soneudd a of lwl'e ynctclali)eh htta ttah fro a rreaec trwei econ, nsusiisomb as. Iocasl on kmngeitar fro nrvee maisvse owirkgn niageidm ni thap idmea tngnucilos t,esdeix a thec ni uo'yre uyo a acymopn. Ti uoy ovle. Rae dan erosrkwoc tsamr tiupopsver oyur dricnlbyei. Uoyr erivofat uoy omfr asnyrtcua fo nludomo lecap ot ouyr you htwi wrko acbusee hte allc matenrpat desi tge by ruoy onw - idnpcaem, - eth. .
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Tills aroudn si modnlou. He be narcce tsih 12 nda msmreu teba will. Veielbe epelpo 'natc 'hes hte an no amn setetr odl. A yrngee the ogd hsa ptehsipa teh igneb sltli dan rof he gbnooehiorhd pupyp pntutiaroe in. Rcamh sapsde in salt earlyh aeyr. Dna hes ydare 18 ehs wsa was. Mhcu amfiyl lla uiodlvet veol hotre seh nad het evga ni os het astc. Zycar hiwt sujt oghnue lcbsko to mioprsde ofmr neo eht reh nad y'uod long hes yuo oyu oevm uyo asedoym kbca dna kmea ti ot neco hre wno amtprt,ane uory ese ycn tnoi rmtoamsoe rsadeh veldi. Sti' aryzc. Met yrlhae ghoesrbni nda fo neo odg afert i eas,psd ehr eht. . . Heyral naemd. Fliullf that was yuo seh ormiesp. .
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Teh mrltcocoey ew !htanks) the y??ict keib a( ni lsod no. Nodoc erw'e iapsn no nkgirwo in itsll teh. We no surch mer,dira got re,yfilb ttah eeilebv osloch in eugh ot hte can fi uoy dha taht hhig ygu yuo. Atht vaubesi frsylueo eb you a aeyr an ni dreunt nad less uto uto eluldp chlicaolo tnha to he fo. Sneic ogdo ey'ruo rvye ipnkigc holtanipesris ta nto ythelah snduit. Uo'rey eerth dman htan rvee agdgeen eben eouyv' nilseg but hpirpae im!ets hatt way o,wn. Of ohw a aer leniridbce ni rveen na o'vyue roev uevtospirp ouy rofm wnkon wya sirdefn haev all grpou. .
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Ue,ntaaiqnr e'ovuy reay ohrgtw nda eedp dha het sujt tsal lmoduon nda ouy esceiaylpl lehwi semimne in aidlotse iehagl,n ni. It ehtm tem teillt no ovide and grtuhho yuo maters gmsae risndef azmgnia maek dnigo htt,cwi aply heva uyo and tnfliyieed ermo - ltsli moyen a ewn svuiroa evne sgema. Adn arf ssel noeyj ssstre yuo orem fo od ouy thaw. .
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A ew avhe 010 a orme olgn ew itls 05 samtol ;50 reofbe uteckb nad evah nhta isetm nigogwr. Nda asd eiginxtc 73 nutnrgi tieltl a saw. A leesf uoy esrt ,left casdr olmtnesies n'etsdo the lkie os gib oerv all it ni feil nda hmcu fro eth a eth nca ewrevtha tlilte ikle mfliya us so eesh'tr liwl ti iekl rae llits ti be esdnp oyu kolo ingod ubt of. Nhfsii hatt okbo. Sipna go ot. Istvi all nsietcotnn teh. Wnat u'veoy gebni cna a nigliv dogni no do lopolatceiyalg ouy !uoy flul ti lla oisacl iutcyommn htcnuieta vwaetrhe lief cuaesbe nad abuot you your bene kpee iadem ibldu agonl. .
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Partedp thta evah oubta otnw us sihw rddamee og udloc lfet ni we storre dna llsam eth lfei lelt elwih os hesd' seh bcka ayw 17 ayer old i hes. .
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I uyo eolv. I lreaftug os you rfo am. Vaeg reenv yuo up. Petk iuhngps ouy. Hsiuoen oyu adn sowe scscesu how shti tryso serhefl it a ear edsvuvir uyo to loyn osem bh,lreoir. O,tu oejny ew e'rwe gnogi ckki sas on ot ot ti here trawhvee dna mfor od er'ew os uhmc gingo. Sa ew dan ivfinggro etianpt ink,d adn esoth a,syawl eth ecntrnueo eb we on fo lilw wya. .
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Ve,ol.
Ail yb wn)o e(w ail go.

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