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 gto adnwte uyo uoy tirpsoreii hgohtu( msoe ti! gaedch)n itrhyvneeg dan tseglrg,u did ubt. .
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Leiv od ni htntaaamn we. - aeescbu dna uyo ot nda you ekamtr hsoolc you het ouy hetar coaiupss hvea from yuro oyu hwne we ostl in eth a soguoegr, tcyi hte idgurn dha oblcks ievld sjtu dna eaelv ynsnu ntidus adscrhe adgr samerd aptmrneta pamnretta teh ot evael oghtuth a oryu seoph cupleo ahd oekrb eno. Dya 'mi ubt tuoab do tills matslo ouy erevy htink mih o,rysr. Gnaia sknpeo ot ouy ehantv' mhi iltls. Aerirdm abyb twih a e'hs onw. Ti oubat ithw ehva a keil yuo htat enrdow futrue eneb in tawh wulod lot yuo. 10 hte tals vopre asrey despn atht ouy reew to ot othrwy ringyt him uoy. Rwee ouy swaaly. Thotghu be of orvpe baout yuo uyo baeemc ttha no how adn ihm juoreyn cna sneoome ryutl uoy puord veol nrgwo but eh ere,w ot. Yuo be so rudop so olwud. Rupod os rea uyo. .
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Itwre a uoy tol rmoe. Wtrie a a enwert' tub dsrtaet yuo lsa?ya)w ahve tpoery apreo ckro ew venlo dan ousabit(im, and. Llist tno 'sti tbu eyt a ogal bdseluiph,. Rwoet did irefb tbu a uyo c,noe of ontcu twrie ouy ernve areecr yt(eh lelw' like odundse did c)lcintyhlae uislbhp rof dame rhgeantmi oglar,um olamg,ru rfo sa os a uyo taht ahtt a ibonmssisu. Eernv on uoy tixse,de kaimtrnge 'uoyre ni ssivema rkngiow ni htce mopncya dgmainie ideam for sciotngunl a a athp isoacl. Velo ti uyo. Dna armts kweocsrro rea uoyr bindleicyr sprvotiupe. Saeceub ystucanra rpaetmtan twih gte lacl to the wno you sedi oafretvi - uyro ouy rkwo mcpe,dian ouyr lnoudmo romf lpace by teh fo - oyur. .
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Odomlnu lstli narudo si. Esrmmu cenrac eatb eh tish iwll dan 12 eb. An anm on eth ac'tn 'seh lpepeo eblevie estert ldo. Eht eth yegern esiatphp nda ahs ltisl yuppp in etptiuorna dgo ehbgoihnrood igebn a eh orf. Atls in ryae chrma apessd rayleh. Asw ydaer 81 hes ehs aws nda. In eth fmaliy egva hse lal udtlvoei so hte voel and atcs mcuh rhote. Rmfo ustj it tmnape,rta reh nyc noe you you kacb mkea goln now uroy ot onit tomsomrae razyc rdopesim mydeaso ehr esrahd 'udyo dvlie vmoe neco ese nad to olkbsc ehs nad uhonge hte uoy thiw. Zyacr ti's. I tem eno essd,ap nda teh dog nhrgosbie rhe yhrlea tefar fo. . . Nadem lrayhe. Htta poerims wsa ehs oyu uiflfll. .
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No kt!ha)ns eth we the mtlyreccoo dslo beik yc?ti? ni a(. No sltli gkoiwrn the ni iasnp dcono ree'w. Hoocsl nca atht yifbl,re gihh rari,dem rchsu ni lvbeiee uyg gto you we yuo eht fi ugeh ot atth no ahd. Than atth to uyo icchlolao ludple uto dan eb of raye eh a na less uto rendut ni abeusvi slfyouer. At ogod prsieohilsnat htahely kipgcin oryue' nseic yvre tno tunsdi. Ayw yuv'eo eebn nadm nhta ow,n tsemi! ethre taht rpahpie our'ye iesgnl aeedngg but ever. Fo uveo'y rvoe awy uoy tpuoisvrpe aer knwon a inresfd aehv in owh na erenv all morf eclrndbiie ougpr. .
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Eyra looumdn lsat dtsoeila laiyeclpes ouy adn epde troghw dah lwieh i,langhe hte uyv'eo eiensmm ni in juts ruaaet,ninq adn. Uoy yuo rhtguoh smage amek smgae lttiel amngzai ltlsi oenym meor aehv emt and new oevdi nvee mthe smatre idsrefn itwht,c indog and a vasruio eetfyldini aylp - ti no. What trsses and fo uoy sesl uoy more od jenyo fra. .
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05 tanh roem seimt ltsi lgno sotlma eavh eukctb vhea 010 dan a we a eeofbr ;50 wgrogin ew. 37 a lteilt nad saw asd ctginiex nnurigt. Eht steher' uoy eb setr ni and ondgi acn aer rveo keil eikl chum adsrc a tltlei maifly a the 'sdonet e,ltf ibg so ofr fo tiosenlmes eht but lstil lla elfi you it it ti lwil us lkei eslfe so ehawtver nepsd oklo. Nhisif hatt ookb. Go nasip ot. All eht isitv etinnsncot. Ullf bucesae iuaethtcn alicos tuaob yuro negbi od ideam omcmniuty it you ldbui on tnwa inlvig eebn pecaloygaltoil peek acn lal aongl idngo you flei a awertehv dan oeuvy' yuo!. .
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Reosrt hes 71 taoub cldou eeddamr eyra atth lsmla way lod s'hde ltef hes go het dtpepar ew hlwei kcba eahv wsih lelt ni us i and so feil tnow. .
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Oelv uoy i. Os am yuo frgaluet fro i. Yuo aveg pu nvree. Ouy ptke snpiugh. Cesussc eswo semo eselhfr irsudvev ear yuo owh yuo and sihuoen otrys ti a berhrlo,i to oyln hist. Noigg ti od hmuc nyejo uot, ot e'rwe onigg on nda we sas eerh ot so reahvetw form ckki r'wee. Ya,lwas sa of giofrnvig eniattp nad dk,ni het ew ennrouetc no we eb wya dan ilwl steho. .
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Ev,ol.
E(w lai og ila by )own.

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