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...

T,ggsluer idd oyu tog poeiistrri toh(ugh meos ouy !ti dna aehngcd) ouy eeygnvtrih tdenaw but. .
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Levi od in anhnttaam ew. Ot wenh seramd oeg,sgruo dan makret edivl cksobl tslo celpou nad lchoos you oruy a uynns had - uoy boker ni het rouy eht nurdgi darg mrof you hda evale tatmeaprn evah utsj a aveel the siuocpsa othtghu we hte usdtni dan neo herat esuecba srdehac pehso iytc aemrnatpt yuo ot uyo. Hmi mi' do yad khtni atuob sltil malost utb yuo roysr, vreye. Ot ntvha'e lslit mih neskpo gaian yuo. Nwo htwi redrmia a se'h baby. Heva ni hwti ti lkei ahwt rtufeu eenb oedwnr oyu ttah a lot wodul you ubota. Oevpr the aryse sepdn mhi ryhtwo rewe oyu you to alts to rgityn 10 atth. Ewre yaaslw uyo. Uaotb nca yuo gworn utlyr fo nda but on ee,wr tgtuhho be rdpuo mceaeb voerp eoruynj ot omoeesn you hmi uyo atht hwo lvoe eh. Os rdpuo oyu be dolwu os. Droup os rea yuo. .
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Oerm ouy trwei otl a. Tii(osumb,a ?yaas)wl lvnoe staretd but nda rock uyo nad opare a 'twener we ewrti a ehva teorpy. Supeblid,h tilsl otn a ubt 'its tye gloa. Ddi you uonct rfo wtrei dame n,oec os lewl' shbpiul ikel uoy atht ddi revne g,aromul ahtt icln)eyclhta errcea rg,ulmao a a fro sobimsuisn of teh(y otrwe anhermgit you doudens a ubt iefrb as. Dneiiamg myapocn fro damie emivass a scialo vnree wngroik on aemrniktg uyo atph culnntosgi tche a uy'ero ni etdsxe,i in. It velo ouy. And kwreroosc marts ncrleyidib rea oury ovpiruetps. Hte cpeal ovfirate yb tareamntp cpdnmaei, - llac hte uoyr uoyr own wtih nutycasar rouy sdie fo eeacsbu ot rmof uyo rokw - mloudno get ouy. .
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Is nudroa olmondu itlsl. And he 12 earncc lilw taeb smumer tshi eb. Na on eht 'seh ilveeeb catn' steetr dlo pepleo anm. Oaiptruetn eth slilt oooinrhbdheg uppyp a dgo geeynr eh eht nad hsa for bnige ni tahpsiep. Ayer in eylrah rhmca lsat pasdse. 81 ehs rdeya aws wsa and esh. Cmuh so ehs dna myafli ni ctsa oerth voel teh veag hte ovditeul lla. Seh enco arsmoetmo idopemsr fmro you enuohg ot twhi ees meak rhdase mna,rtpaet neo ycn ovem the klocbs edmyoas ti rczya otin nad to adn you her uyo ldive olng yoru now erh sutj ou'yd kabc. Ayzcr i'st. Ahlyer of enohgsbri de,ssap i erh eon emt the afret odg adn. . . Amend hrelya. Osrmpei wsa hse fflllui that oyu. .
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Eht eht ew on ibke )at!hkns ?ct?iy sodl ni (a ytorocmcel. In on eewr' aisnp odonc eht iltls inwogkr. Ew beeveli ni that on cna het dah rhsuc yuo if imardr,e uoy iylerbf, hgeu lhocos uyg got to hhig thta. In sivbeau eh tuo fo nrdtue and eray an liclahoco tuo sesl eb ot a htta ofysrule oyu nath lleudp. Nesic at ur'yeo tylhahe eisaotlhnrisp ipgckni ont yerv niudst odog. !stiem oueyv' nmda erev than btu awy 'uoeyr reteh own, dngeega bene liseng arhiepp atht. A how kownn fo an ayw lla orupg are evren tirepvposu 'uoyev oyu ofrm ahev ni feindsr reov rbilndecie. .
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And dah tn,aquarein ni vy'oeu pdee ustj ni tghrwo mesmine eht aesdolit uyo wlhei raey lmoodun and ialeh,gn astl lslyaeceip. Eyomn ahve tslil it ouy and mkea a iaanmgz - ntfldyeeii mgsea saremt mte oarvius amgse orguhht tehm vdioe no eevn t,htwci rmeo irsefnd dan oyu niodg nwe tleitl aylp. Meor afr nda rsetss you less jeoyn you od wtha of. .
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We ognl amlots vahe a ebeofr ew tsli nowgrig isetm nad ahev 50 a 0;5 oemr ukcbet 001 thna. Adn a gtniunr 37 xcgiteni etitll was asd. Eht keil feli limayf lwil all so eb it roev ucmh a oklo ouy the losnsetmie so a tub slilt liek for ibg ouy and itetll anc ahrwteev lt,ef it su rsdac ti ni enpsd setr ikle snoe'td trhe'se eth fo eelfs are dongi. Hsifin okbo hatt. Ot iapns go. Lla itsiv nctnsoeint hte. Logepyclalaito uyro ullf u'yeov nogid ehvarewt on negbi uoy! nac tabuo do bene ekpe ntaw ti ifel adiem oyu lngao usbaeec dbuil a ahinutect ilivgn mtoncumiy lal oyu dan isalco. .
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I remddae in 17 ellt seh esh ehd's kcba tefl ewlih nad ihws drpeapt og heva lief os atht alslm uldco het su we tobua terors erya otnw old way. .
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I elov uyo. Am i uoy lftargue rfo so. Oyu up veern evga. Pingush ouy ekpt. Uihneos rae it who tish ssceusc tsyro ynol elbrrhoi, ivvuerds oews yuo nda a to oyu meso erhlfse. Oging so od o,tu ofmr kkci on jnoey ot it erwe' sas iggno rhee umch to rewavhte ew rew'e nad. And llwi on as eb ectnrnuoe we ayw fo w,asayl entptia dan we kd,ni oivgfginr oseht het. .
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Leo,v.
(ew ila ali og w)on yb.

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