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...

Omse hhuo(gt ddi uslgtrg,e !it uyo otg ithnevryeg ertioiirps dna dcaeghn) uoy atendw oyu utb. .
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Tmaatnhan ni od ew elvi. Remsad a tarhe stju dan ni dunrgi you yuo agrd schedar whne eth the to tniusd berok you oclpue yuo aparntemt so,eogrug hotgtuh ew and fomr ehav tlso hoesp dna alvee ot - had uoyr ceaesbu pnmarttae uoy eth ytic dah royu ynnus cusospai ielvd noe aevle kobcsl mtaekr eht a soloch. Do tilsl abuto r,yosr yad 'mi eeyvr tasmlo iknth uyo but mhi. Illst gaani ot you kpoesn imh atvn'he. A seh' now wiht abby mareird. Onwedr ahtt it terfuu in lto iekl btuoa ithw oyu hvea neeb hatw uoy ouwdl a. Ot 01 eewr snpde giyntr ysaer ahtt to roevp hte ltsa hytwor ihm ouy uyo. Erwe lywaas you. Eb dupro rgown uoy to on uhotthg you fo rjuoney ltyru btu uyo eporv ree,w vloe anc htat woh and mhi mcebae he eoonems aubot. Be os ruopd oyu os wdulo. Odurp oyu os rae. .
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Rweit emor uyo a tlo. A orkc tiewr uoy a nda aaw)sy?l oai,mtub(si ten'rwe tyorep and edstatr eavh ew oveln aroep btu. A 'its stlil lago ont tey tbu dpblse,ihu. Ntuco htat btu lspiuhb ouy a ey(ht lo,gruam you deounds e'llw os ddi rfo sa riebf a erarec of sounisismb rfo rmeitahng ahtt mua,orgl a ddi cno,e eirwt aemd evern ielk )lnylhceatci you rtweo. A oe'yru deaim ehtc inamgrtek asmsvie wirkong athp yoampnc danegimi venre locias on ied,xest you a in ungsntlcoi ni for. Eovl it uoy. Dna era yuor cnyelidibr piteposvru oocrrewsk sratm. Cpa,eidnm - eht teh mofr onw fo uroy etg eeuscba to royu uoyr ihtw lmnodou oyu rfviteoa ouy nscyauatr yb pecla llca rkwo sied maetrtapn -. .
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Ilstl ldmnuoo si udanor. He eb usmemr lwli ecrcna and iths 12 btae. On poleep 'hes odl het eretts ivlebee 'ncta nma na. He pyppu rgynee eht iebgn dna dgo the dinoehoboghr in ephitpsa tilsl has for nripotetau a. Asespd tsal ni ylreha raey hracm. Nda 18 yadre asw ehs was esh. Teh os dna cast umhc odteuivl all gaev toerh oevl lmifay in ehs hte. Bkca ocbksl the her adn kmea rhe wthi you uyo oruy ot ehs ouy ocne msaeody won iordemsp devil rehsda aomseotrm ti cyn eon hguneo stju rcayz vmeo ogln to o'duy nda ntio see a,rmtnatep romf. Arzcy 'sti. Hre eht neo fo gdo aehlyr ngibrsoeh etm i ferat nda ,seadsp. . . Aryhel nadem. Sroimpe lluiflf ttah oyu saw hes. .
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In comryeltco k!th)san teh a( we kieb no ty?ic? dsol eth. Npisa ondoc e'erw isltl no ni wionkgr teh. To htat ohsolc r,diarem nca ttha oyu brleyif, in hte oyu scrhu fi yug liveebe gto hda ihhg we hueg on. An ni tuo elrsoyuf eh atht ievbuas eb oclacliho nda yare less uoy than fo ulpdle uto dtnure a to. Yheltha at lnssihtoeaipr cisen not or'yue dsunit reyv igcpink gdoo. Eirppah isegnl 'euoyv nhat erteh but wno, ttah yer'uo siem!t eenb anmd awy agneedg veer. Form aer tpuoisverp rveen rvoe onknw in ayw an ogurp eibcdenlir erfsind yuov'e yuo a aveh hwo lla fo. .
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Erya oaidlset tals odmulno dah voe'uy ni ouy pclleieasy memsine adn eedp gwthor iaeanqu,rnt e,higlna dan ustj iwhle ni eht. Ngiod iedvo aiosuvr wne ahev yuo fiydeeltni vnee on emak a tsamre aazngim isrnfed ti hetm yuo - adn wthtci, dna gmaes nomey omer ltelit egsma emt ilslt lyap rguothh. Srstse fra hwat njeyo mroe of od less you dan you. .
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Moer gngowri haev 5;0 bfeore a 50 ew mteis a aehv adn ew bkuetc ltsi 010 nglo otasml tanh. A 73 gurnitn saw das ntgxicie litetl dna. Ikel aer h'retes utb setr eb f,lte it ofr you hte it carsd a e'otsdn all ibg yuo liek dna ilwl ilek ni nespd itsll sefle tetlli a dinog ylfami enitssleom eth lkoo us os anc so of ewhevatr hmcu ti ervo lfie eth. Bkoo nsifih atht. To og anips. All iivts nnotctsien hte. Ouy eebn oyru and iemda yuo idblu lla natw nhacuitte vilgin nac noictyumm a loleataclpiyog tavehwer neibg no ullf ndgio ilfe isalco oeuy'v ebcaesu tuoab anogl od eekp u!yo ti. .
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Ttha amlsl ew teh esh ehs radppet orster and abck emeddra ni aery ifel og 'esdh siwh lod i taobu eltl ahev ulodc notw yaw tefl os us 17 eliwh. .
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Vole yuo i. Guarlfte ouy ma fro i so. Renev up vaeg you. Tpke yuo uhgnpis. Ot are soew yuo dna ouy ecsscus isht how syrot lnyo rroilb,he ivrevuds omse iushnoe rlhesfe a ti. It to ot no mrof rhee 'weer so nda o,tu mcuh oggin we rewevhta yenjo iggno od ass kkic eewr'. Ew het dna lliw be and soeht kndi, givfniogr eerntcnuo tainpet ew on of asw,yal sa yaw. .
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Olev,.
E(w nw)o go lia yb ial.

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