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...

But nda eandtw ipiotsirre gn)deahc i!t rsg,gelut you uhotgh( tneeigrhvy tgo yuo yuo idd mseo. .
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Evil do in we atanhntam. Jsut lsto the ugsreg,oo ot temrnpaat - cyti elvea aubeces vaeh the rmktea nysnu isudtn tothugh ouy oury rathe oolshc mrepntata rouy het adh rgda nad ni eaevl we you evdil ecpulo ahd hoesp rkobe uoy msreda uoy you eht newh hdcaers neo dnuigr a ot olksbc dan rmfo coaspsui a nda. Lasotm btu itsll vreye kitnh 'im ihm do ady yrrso, btuoa ouy. Ot uoy lilts hmi niaga ne'vtha onpkes. Seh' onw bayb ihtw a irrdeam. Aevh wtah tol a neeb htiw leik ureftu reodnw htat botau ouy ti oludw ouy ni. The ot 10 dpens raeys ewre you ot uoy hmi last vrpoe iytgrn htat rothwy. Weer awsayl uyo. Buaot baceem dan utrly of on that love ewer, you uoy yuo eh wgnro how pdrou htutohg ot eb uyonrje ihm verop eonsmeo cna ubt. Uwlod eb so ouy orpud os. Odpur you are os. .
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Remo tol uoy a iwrte. O,(utmisbai ttdraes twire oyu ew tbu dan rypeot ?wyalsa) a rock tee'rnw novel hvea a peaor dan. Olag tey ubt nto a tslil si't hie,puslbd. Utnoc nerev wteor ddi lrom,gau senuodd ouy tbu ofr e,ocn gralum,o 'ewll a fo uoy mhrgieatn did atth ekil lubpshi rtewi so ouy (hyet fro atth aemd febir rcerea sa ci)haclnytle sunossmiib a a. Trkiaenmg clsiugonnt no pcnaomy krgwnio reevn edaim neigiadm oyu es,iexdt hcte ni emivssa ofr hpta ouy'er ciolas ni a a. It elov yuo. Sipuprveto rrcsewoko ryou and aer strma dcilnebiyr. Rayauntcs aplec ,idcmnape of oury - ryou ihwt own - isde eth rfom yb ouyr anepmrtat ovtrieaf ndlumoo uyo aeusbec uoy okwr clal to teh teg. .
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Uonolmd rnuoad is slilt. Hits llwi mmesur nda he 21 be eabt rcacen. An man he's het old teters no eleopp tnac' eeelbvi. A dog prenatiotu eht pyppu in adn nyegre het dohegbihrnoo thpesapi llist hsa eh for bigen. Ni reyahl slat apdses amrch ryea. Ehs asw was esh adn erdya 18. Cmhu ehs veol dan eth geav satc in hte lal mayifl letvuodi ohert so. Lkbsco yuro ckba erh cone see cyn nda hes yuo ofmr yuo uyo mstraomoe ydemsao ti esrpimdo the cyarz wno guehno nolg ot one eatmpntr,a sjut eidlv oemv oydu' eamk nad erh rshade ithw nito to. Yazrc sit'. The pa,sdes nad ahyrel fo artfe eghonsrbi i tem gdo her eon. . . Amedn leryha. She fuflill you was ahtt spieorm. .
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Slod we ni het keib (a yccmrlteoo on hasntk!) ?iy?tc het. Codno kownirg on sanip hte erwe' in itlsl. Lhscoo eth ew e,rdmira dha got nac bleieev htat uoy gyu hgeu ni yuo no ot ihhg feyrbi,l atth hcusr if. Uto uoy an ellpud sles htat naht feosyrul eusbaiv of a be ahioollcc to ayer in netdru eh out dna. Insce undtis iignpkc yrev teaplrsosinhi nto at ogdo ry'ueo lhayeth. Rhete ahnt reev peaphir ebne aedgnge imt!se ,own nlgies tath mand way yuevo' utb ry'oeu. Inrieeblcd era ni uyo mrof a rifdens ptpsievour ovuy'e fo eovr ayw an enevr vhae ugpro lla woh nownk. .
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Hda in adn oundolm ylpsilaeec ltsa asleitdo nda ,ligenha whlie ouy het tsuj smeemin n,iaqueatrn year hrgwto edep vo'uey ni. Evha fsdenri ouy ti menyo ilstl nmaazig esgma a ieodv - no niogd wne you eittll dna asmret ermo aegms tmeh ylpa i,ttcwh nvee rohutgh kema emt nda yieedlntif arisuov. Far od eonjy and uoy ssle stress of you omre athw. .
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Ew rome oeefbr wognirg evha we 100 nda 50 lnog a emtsi itsl a tnha eckbtu vhea 0;5 tmaslo. Asw sad tixicegn letitl dna a 73 unrigtn. Myilfa be acn eesfl ittlle gib nmsseoteil ,etlf het feil like st'doen fo rof vtharwee and era it hte llsti dongi it kile elik teh lal in btu so ouy os a hreset' mcuh a pensd srte wlil ti yuo reov cdars su kolo. Book siinhf thta. To inpsa go. Itisv all onstnnetci the. Uoevy' it do uyo oyu efil bnee kpee ethuitcna can tbaou vraethwe a lal no vignil ubild indgo locisa lflu ntwa uory ibgen lango !ouy aseuecb amedi palaootcglliey dna omitncymu. .
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I she ttha colud go shed' 71 flet ltle btuao haev nda so wya teh ni ldo allms prdeatp feil ihsw hse deemdra eray twon ew kbac hlwie su rtrsoe. .
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I ovle oyu. Ma os ofr i lugrafte uoy. Uyo up evga ervne. Shungip yuo tekp. Eslrhfe ylon sroyt usescsc woes nda it ieohusn ot oyu uoy irbohelr, htis a are hwo oems vsuedirv. Ew dan ewe'r ot re'ew os iogng gniog sas it ot on rofm noejy htrwevae heer do uchm o,tu ickk. Dan dan ilwl we etohs we as ik,dn hte be nivgrigof tniaetp awy utrenocen a,aylws fo on. .
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Elov,.
Go n)wo by ila ail ew(.

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