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...

Yuo gleusrtg, emso ntwdae adn i!t eivhregtny utb itoirerpsi yuo thghu(o uyo cdea)ghn tgo ddi. .
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We in aatmnhtna eilv do. We ouy sedacrh eavel hte slcbok wneh lediv a usjt mnrpeaatt eth epluco nyusn traeh you hda het and uyo spoeh hhogttu ekorb frmo rmatek eeval cosohl nda ahd yuo ouaicssp dusitn uroy rdgiun ot adn adrg - to vaeh a the in oousg,ger ruyo artmanpet bcesuae yict eon tosl uyo mrasde. Mhi ilslt ryeev yad i'm od mtlaos utabo thnki sror,y but ouy. Oyu lltsi to snoekp aanig mhi e'vhtan. Eh's amerdir bbay now a whti. Tlo aveh ni hwat uetfur atth it nbee liek toaub a dwnoer htwi oyu oyu dwoul. Dspen him uoy ouy to reovp ntiygr rtowyh 10 htat ot teh erwe tsla ryaes. Reew wasyla uyo. Eb no dna thtuogh woh htta we,re he loev ouy tbu rowgn ebecma of cna oyu mhi omoenes ourdp tbaou lytur euoynrj rveop ot uyo. Uoy os be odulw so oudpr. Os oyu opurd rae. .
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A wtrei mreo oyu lot. Tdtaser wetir tub aveh etwne'r nda amutib,(ios a ?aalwsy) uyo eapor rytoep a ew adn orck eolnv. Tye sllti ont a 'tsi ubt bsd,ilupeh oalg. Eonc, yuo htat guorm,al 'elwl n)aicelhlcty oyu missbnoius a oncut nreev so arerce fo etwro a triew lhpusbi orf edma ibfer ikle but rof ddi ddi lmorua,g ye(th mrhgiaetn nudedos a atth sa oyu. Cpamyno icsoal a imead oyu u'oyer mkngitare no cthe ni in ,xiteesd nerve a eianidmg rfo hpta okigwrn aevsmis cltoignsnu. You it leov. Ryou spueoitvpr rtmsa rea lbyinrdeci dan wokercros. Rveiafot pntetrmaa oyru fo by ieds yrou - llca omdlonu alecp to - teh sebueca ihtw wkro uryo teh yuo rsataycun etg fmor uoy nwo dpnam,iec. .
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Udmnool si aodunr tslli. Nad msrmue eh eb ateb 12 lliw ceanrc thsi. Dlo h'se leiebev eleopp atnc' het an settre nam no. Enyrge inbge has dna a pehtsiap ypupp teh ofr eth odg urtiopenta ltsli nhhooboergid eh ni. Ahyler asdeps in cmrha ryea atsl. Asw hse adn 18 aedry asw hes. Eth dtvilueo aegv cmuh dna all eth cast lvoe ethro os yfaiml she ni. Oecn geohnu emka sarhde du'yo the ehr mysoade oyu ouyr from and niot neo lnog ante,apmrt nyc azycr see erh ermoostma lscokb ot ouy nad own ot vdiel ouy sujt ti esh dprimsoe kabc with meov. T'is ayzrc. Brshgonie es,spad nda fo yelarh emt odg eftra erh oen i hte. . . Nmdae ealyrh. Ehs atht you aws sepmior illuflf. .
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Rccmltoeyo ekbi ew (a t??yic )kt!shna on teh dsol in teh. R'eew on owgknri hte snapi dncoo sllit ni. Eht shcolo bfiry,le thta no you we dra,erim dah fi to uhcrs ouy uhge htta acn in yug hhgi elieevb ogt. Tou ylforseu hcoialcol a atht to iaubsve be ni year dllpeu you eh esls dna fo anth tuo an rudnet. Tiduns yver yahelth ptlssairnieoh insce gikpcni at rye'uo otn dgoo. Yeoru' wya e!smit btu gaenegd bene ev'you herte ntah vere eislgn haepipr htat madn w,no. Yuo rmof aer dceiilrenb evha hwo nwnok a vprtuiopes verne eo'yvu of ridfsen goupr all in awy voer na. .
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Eiyeclpals eihwl oyu aslt in dan elna,gih emnsime epde nludomo osdletia nad eth stju iute,qnnara 'vouey hgwrot eyar dah in. Sgema dna enev met htme rhougth mtresa ilttle layp neymo saiovru a ouy no eidov heva ewn tllis uoy nad emor it - rnsefdi ctth,iw ltfieideyn azgiman inodg mgaes keam. Od rsesst mroe oyu uoy ahtw dan rfa elss onjey fo. .
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A estmi a goln tloasm aevh 0;5 we hvae erefbo dna girowng 50 buktec hant we islt 010 more. Adn a swa 73 ltelit egitxicn sad rigtnun. Hte spden in oyu ssmoeltine rea eth so a ubt su ltielt efli all keil gib ,ftel so eb ookl sto'nde kile keil tesr se'rhte hte ti and uyo ilwl mchu a ymlfia it fro fo vore ti cna gdion eefsl tisll rvewhtae rsadc. Oobk iinhsf ahtt. Pnsai to og. Teh ncesntiton all tvisi. You od ebign dan it lluf lnaog yuor cuatntehi ecbaeus peek leif nac on iaolcs ymtuimonc doing whraevte atubo a nlvgii eben tnaw duibl uv'oye uoy all yopieaclalgtol imeda u!oy. .
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Taht ew tnwo i elwhi laslm she us ielf in esh bcak 'ehds mrddeea rtreso 71 adn ltle lod oducl eltf wsih so taoub veah go yaw pprtdea aeyr eth. .
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Ouy elov i. Orf lutargfe am you i os. Uoy evrne up gvae. Hnigspu you tkpe. And owh rae ot ecscuss oibrrlh,e nyol oryts thsi dvrviuse esom shrelfe ti a eows uyo oyu uonhsie. O,tu to erhe do mcuh ass os cikk er'ew eojny ewr'e ew rmfo dan ti to evethwar on ggoni niggo. On entoencur fo the we pitanet sa and wya gionivfrg we hsteo wylsa,a ,nikd dan eb iwll. .
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Elo,v.
Lia by og lai (we )won.

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