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...

Hutho(g osme ouy i!t tu,glresg btu dan yuo atndwe ouy hrigteyevn did tog gahde)nc itiprsioer. .
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Ni nmattnhaa od live we. We enwh a pohes tkerma attamrpen ecopul ot het yuo bkreo ltos a adn ispucsoa hte meards itndus vahe idrugn ruoy ryuo rnaematpt ohlocs adn dan tciy ohghttu ahd osrggue,o snynu lokcsb livde eht oyu aelve tsju oyu - het yuo grad hda acehrsd oen to romf ebecusa aelev oyu ethar in. Litls nhikt od im' ouy eryve him btoua btu lamtos rr,oys dya. To 'tnvhae naagi ilstl mih oyu eopskn. Imrader now a hse' yabb iwht. Yuo it tauob in a nedrow ttah luwdo ueurtf ouy whti been evha olt htwa elki. Towyhr 01 igyrnt roevp alst hte to tath were to yuo ayesr hmi ouy esnpd. Reew saalwy uoy. Opudr who he lyrut boatu no fo yuo hgthotu mcbeae eb uyo to eporv can ubt oyu voel that him nrowg emnsoeo nda reew, younerj. Oyu uldwo udpor so eb so. So are uyo pdour. .
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Omer werti yuo a olt. Yuo tbu a nvloe a okcr iertw strdaet we epora nda wteren' have yepotr lysaw?)a itb,mouais( dan. Aglo ist' hsdiu,pble a illst tbu tno tye. Lw'el ofr tub of did eirbf ,mgrauol lihuspb ,oamgulr tnremaihg hatt as ddesuno uoy a atth deam idd iekl verne heyt( oyu bosiissmnu rof uoy ewrto a yhiclnl)caet tounc racree so riwte a o,cen. Eikgarntm a eissavm in ehct hatp on yuer'o gikonrw ouy in ilcsoa admei for edmgiain amncpoy evnre xdetei,s cninoltusg a. Lvoe ti yuo. Tsarm sroocewkr era idrylnibce uyro adn ppouvtisre. Sruatcyan anepramtt eids royu uoyr yuo irefatvo - rmof the - itwh teg fo oyru hte dooulmn pleca ot by dmecnip,a escueab acll wrok onw yuo. .
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Onmudol ourand sllti is. Ihst crnace lwil atbe eb meusmr dna he 12. 'ctan peopel seettr ebeliev the nma an no hse' odl. A dog for ynegre ebngi tllis iotptanuer eth he ni odnrohgibohe ethaipps hte sah nad upypp. Mrahc erhaly tlas arey sdepsa in. She nad yread swa aws 81 hes. Fliyam mchu all so ni hes eth adn tcas eavg hte oevuildt ohrte eovl. Oen czyar akbc dilve it adn frmo ohenug wiht cbslko dyeomas neco uoy trmamseoo eht sadreh won move oryu ese gonl ot uyo uoy noti ehs erh tjus psimorde reh dna oy'du ot ncy panmetart, emka. I'st rzcya. Eno aretf ,epssad i god iohrgnesb met hre lyreah fo dan eht. . . Maned elyhar. You ttha opirsem wsa seh lfluilf. .
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Het ?ycti? octlrmoeyc no dlos (a ew ibke het in !)sthakn. In sanpi ndoco on 'weer lilst gnrwkio teh. Ni uyo hte ew yug veiebel htat efi,ylbr eguh eidarmr, tgo no dah anc hihg cshloo that fi ot you schur. Hatn fo ldluep lhoiclaoc fsolreuy eh to bsuavei eb thta dan an tuo eyar uyo a less edurnt uot ni. Psisrlnihtaeo lahetyh roe'yu kgicnip isuntd evry at ton snice good. Gdgneea mdan htta atnh eu'oyv semti! slgnei 'oyure bnee hreet ubt aeprihp eerv w,no wya. Dclbniriee pugor rveen rea nifsred fo aevh oe'vuy oyu noknw rfom who an a wya rtoepvipsu roev in lla. .
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Ni dan moudnlo eepd the uyo just tqnnura,eai 'uvoye in alts nga,hile ilecayplse yrae nda dah ensmeim wthorg wilhe teodsali. Sgmae etm vnee a ti taserm - indog aemgs nwe aveh edrnfsi apyl and mthe idveo no uoy yiinedtelf and uoy mero oyemn akme zgaaimn lliett usovira hcw,itt tslil hhgrtuo. Uyo uoy of arf htwa tssrse onjey mero sles nad do. .
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05 msltao 05; ehav kbetuc mreo ew istl 001 a a nlog hnat dan roeefb gorwing ahev ew tmeis. Was 37 and ugnntir das ntcixige a eliltt. It nca are oyu tllite veor setleomsin a gdoin eetravwh wlil ekil het t'shree bgi tfel, nedps seefl n'osdte teh nda us so lla famyil file it asdrc but orf sllti in so chmu esrt oolk ti eb fo a ilek the oyu liek. Hatt sihifn kboo. To iapsn og. Eht lla tiivs tnncsionet. Yuevo' oclisa a gnloa yuo btuoa !uyo nchieutat fllu daiem giodn dan ilbdu uyo eatvhrew eltllciogyaoap no lfie micyoutnm eebn nwat ilgvni saeuceb cna royu epek ngeib do it lla. .
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Avhe tnow hwsi we lalms rtsreo ni ywa og teh ftel dlo us bakc atth eyar llte ehs so i 17 shde' rdaeemd olcud ifle wlhei dna taubo atpdper hse. .
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I you oelv. Uerflatg oyu rfo am so i. Pu you rneve gave. Ouy hgnispu pkte. It are oryts ehlefsr escuscs only ouy ohw wose bloeihr,r a adn niosueh esivudrv tish uoy semo ot. Dan it rwe'e erwe' hcum orfm otu, ynejo do os gniog ssa ot no to kkic rwvaehte gnoig we here. Het ,nkid as nad ew iatnetp wya ew iwll dna on fngigiovr tnercoune fo be ,aysalw hstoe. .
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Oelv,.
Yb (we wn)o og ial lia.

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