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...

Wanedt yuo nda i!t nc)adehg irptroisie u,glregts evetgynhir tbu ouy did some ouht(hg tog ouy. .
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We thmanntaa vlie in od. Omrf tekarm asouicps dha a dilev okreb teh skcolb - amatnretp psheo neo snynu you dna ew evah yuo uoyr oyu to eveal ohcols and ouy mrtantpae urgnid ni tuhhgot het the tareh het wehn ardg dah lecuop stuj o,oggesru aveel ot eucbesa oyu iyct dsercah a edmsra dan unidts lsto ruoy. Od uoy tbaou im' mhi r,orys yda tbu saltmo tllsi tihkn eyerv. Kosnpe uyo ihm nigaa ot slilt teah'nv. Hitw yabb esh' emrarid onw a. Ekli ouy hvae yuo a deonrw wath olt nebe ni dwoul wiht ti ruufet obuta that. Uoy 01 despn to him eht evpro tsal erwe itrngy rseya hatt ouy yohrtw to. Uyo lswaya ewre. Tylru tuaob owh evol you uyo tbu ttah emeabc cna rpove ot ojeunyr fo no him orgwn he utghtho udrop oneemos uyo erw,e eb nad. You so opudr eb owuld os. Os rpuod are uyo. .
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You a tlo emro wtrie. Oyu ,utboaimi(s eahv ee'nrtw tsradet rpaeo lsway?)a a prtyeo ew utb and lovne a rietw ckro dan. Tey nto a utb oagl sdie,plbhu lslit ts'i. Mnarhegti htat tnuoc os ikle uoy usihlpb uoy ddi t(ehy ofr deam ,morluga efrbi snddueo uyo ofr wlel' tirew enrev reecra a of sa ibusmsosin a)lecchynilt omgu,ral did rotew a thta no,ec a but. A ofr a ehct eaidm tpah ni gitlnnscuo you nrvee exte,sid simvase nwkirog laocis on ateimgnkr ni apcynmo adiniemg uye'ro. Uyo velo ti. Adn rae trsma uryo erciblyndi vsutipeorp korsoewcr. Uyo usatynarc rmof ihtw uyro onw egt uory ot hte alcl oyur ondolmu work ecpla voteriaf - eisd fo besacue dec,mapin mtnpratea yb uyo hte -. .
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Is tills nmodulo nardou. 12 nccera hist smemur aetb he iwll and be. Nma on hse' the an tseetr t'nca eeilveb eolpep lod. Litsl hsa eth dgo dan eht yuppp ohbrdohgieon erynge nuoaepittr he ni ofr a egbni pihaptes. Ni rmcha last asespd eary rahyle. Hse dan esh saw ydera wsa 81. Ni muhc adn so eutoivld atsc hse eth vgea lal evlo famliy het herto. Hre ot tjsu heasdr esh ti emak kbolsc iton oyu reh onw epidmsor ouy oegnuh 'yuod eon long het ycrza adn omve ees onec nad ot twhi emodsya ryuo evlid uoy stmmrooea ckab from a,ttpnmrae ycn. Ryzac st'i. Oen trafe mte hte i hnrosgeib dog aeylhr ehr dssep,a of dan. . . Ryealh mndea. Was hes lfllifu rpeiosm taht uoy. .
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Y??tic we in !skan)ht ebik ctcoyrloem eht sdol the on (a. Eth no rwkiong odnoc sanip re'ew ni tllsi. Shruc ttha atht l,frybie in gheu ouy to redamir, ihhg belviee dha if ew uyo otg the ugy no anc hcolso. Na bauseiv eb ot druetn uerofyls out achoclilo elldpu dan thna ni uto year he that a esls yuo fo. Ensic at oogd itndus eroy'u evyr ehatyhl hlsipeinoarst ont ipckign. Reve rpaipeh sengli amnd yaw v'uyoe ryou'e htta hnta neaegdg tub eenb now, !tmies erhet. Fdrenis konnw roev cdbirleien way frmo in vnree orgup rea a hvea eo'yvu na terppsviuo hwo fo lla ouy. .
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Niqenau,tra nduolmo in g,nleaih nad eepd hda tujs alts in nad raey ouve'y wtrgoh ouy tiaoedsl nememis hte ihelw eacsiyllpe. Idgon esmag rensfid - aveh vousira hemt agmes ttleil plya tdiinfleye nad oievd on tth,icw emak myneo uthorhg tem nwe uoy a ti gazamin you mestra vene siltl omer dna. Raf yuo od twah and jneoy of you ssle more rstses. .
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Iwrnogg maslto tils uctekb a ew ew oefbre ntha aveh nolg vaeh 05 001 50; esmti rome a nda. A urntgin wsa 37 nad tleilt tneciixg dsa. Mssenteoli ookl tfel, ti all ibg nac in lwil like os teewhrav iflamy are a odtne's you evro oyu pdsne su hte ndoig hmcu os etsre'h tllsi dan a lkie elik utb of leesf eth dcras rtse ifle eb eht ti it fro iteltl. That infish ookb. Og ot sapni. Sviit etcsnonnti all teh. Teolcaylpliago nbegi laosic you efil ekpe eneb idlub wtna arhetvew od ueseabc ignod nad lal nvigil a ou!y anolg uyiotmcmn on ehacttnui eamid it ulfl yuo obaut acn eovyu' oury. .
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Hse cabk 17 we thta iefl su ocldu yaer utoab hte tefl deatrpp erdemad vahe odl twon og lsmal ni hd'es tlle siwh serrot she so i dna liewh ywa. .
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I uoy ovle. I am uoy etralfgu so rof. Vnree uyo pu egva. Kpet sipgnhu uoy. Weos lorrhe,ib ieonshu yuo a shrelfe lnoy ot uscssce rtsyo msoe ouy hsit ti rae ohw and isdrevvu. We it kkic vwetehra os ot oyjen noggi mhcu 'erew ofmr otu, do dan on oggni ot ass e'erw heer. Adn ayw we kidn, wlil wsala,y eb nda sa no nteuornec fo tehso ew tentapi het gnirvoigf. .
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E,vlo.
Go lai ila (we )onw yb.

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