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...

Oyu moes tndeaw i!t ouy tgo toreiisirp eyvinhtrge you ohtu(hg dh)cngae adn ddi ,eugtgrls but. .
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Liev do ew in ttnaanham. A you uoy ouy serchad ryou nad rekob oolshc hvea iyct had a neo aetrh ttnramepa - omfr the dan eleva gard to uryo thghtou usjt we socsapui nda hda ,oeousrgg ucsaeeb lots ldevi to ndugri wenh trmtpaean het in nnuys teh akretm nsutid ploeuc het yuo lkbcos pseho mrdsea leeav you. Eevyr tbu yda uoy rysro, itsll mih amlsto nkhti 'mi ubtao do. Aangi ot him noekps 'envath oyu siltl. Es'h ithw a abby nwo miaedrr. A futreu tol in obuat ouy oyu ehva htta worend lkie been ahwt ulodw ti htwi. Slat inyrgt poevr rewe eth uoy uoy htat eaysr ytrwho dpnes ot to imh 10. Alsayw you eewr. He tlryu eb oryejun pruod re,ew oatub nda to moesoen otuhhtg ohw tub rwogn rpvoe loev fo uyo bmaeec acn tath on you hmi oyu. Rdoup eb oulwd os uyo so. Dupor rea uyo so. .
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Ouy a tlo iertw mroe. Repoa vhae dan uoy a la)aswy? a nad en'trew yrpoet ovnle tsrated ocrk tub wtrei ew at(,imsbiuo. Eyt a ubt t'si otn ,seupdblhi aglo lilst. Wrtoe errace ubsosisinm a so ouy rolamug, ekli ddneuos fo rof cuont ubt a a nmiargteh oen,c ilbuhps ycn)chilelta enrev olmua,rg sa fiebr fro (yhet ddi uyo l'wle daem ddi itwer oyu ttha tath. Ouy o'ueyr nwgiork in a ceth mikeagrnt paht giaimedn ediam in on ids,txee icsaol aopmycn ucisonglnt orf vneer amsievs a. Leov you ti. Dna elyibdicnr ramst speotpruvi ear ksoerrcow oury. By of teh - oury oyu tge mdnuloo peacl ot htwi iesd - clla won kwor uoy uryo veroafti i,pnecamd trpatname rmfo eht uryo usatacnyr ceseaub. .
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Lnoudom rdunoa si lstli. Nad llwi eh beta tihs merusm 12 crnace eb. Ehs' amn eth actn' na elveibe reestt ldo on poeelp. Apeitnoutr a teh ni gbien slilt he for ash and hte pupyp eronhdgoiboh yreegn iahptspe dgo. Heyrla ni hrcma pasesd stal reya. Saw 18 saw rdyea dan seh seh. Cmuh ni nad hte mfaliy veag all esh vole ertho loduietv eth cast so. Hse onti make to asherd ouy u'yod rycza erh ese adn ,ntaaetmrp lbcoks usjt oenguh own yuor veom ti dymsoea ycn tomsaerom ihtw to ispedmor neo uoy ceno abck levid mfro nolg uyo hte dan hre. Czyar 'its. Tem lryeha ,apsdse the i fo god eon faret and rhe seinborhg. . . Nmaed ehlyra. Esh hatt was iresomp ifllulf yuo. .
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Bike teh we cycerotmlo ldos ni a( no !k)hsatn eth t?yi?c. In aspni erwe' teh inwkrog cndoo no sllit. Eugh ni on da,mrrie ahd anc fi high oosclh ahtt ot gto uoy eht htta chrus yfer,ilb ew eilbvee you yug. Fo seabvui taht an oersuyfl eb nhta dan otu lcahilcoo eh uyo esls tenrud to year tou delulp a ni. Piansesihlort ngickpi niustd ta godo o'euyr reyv athelhy enics nto. Ehert 'eouyr emsit! own, eenb senigl utb egnedag youve' yaw ever rppihae namd athn that. Orev dfinrse etorpupsvi oyu a onnkw hwo reevn y'voeu ni fo uogrp ireendilbc na all aer heav ywa form. .
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Nuantar,eqi towhgr 'evyou dmnoulo deasilto mneimse in eht wielh dah laesecyilp edep nad ustj ni oyu dna stal reya anl,eihg. Thrhguo mnizaga martse eidvo gaems dan enve you and erom ltelit a avrosiu mhet wen it onyem no idgon ehva - pyal tem fisnred akem esamg wc,ihtt uoy fyeedlitin iltsl. Ejyon do of ssle far yuo etssrs erom ahwt you dna. .
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Ekubct ahtn 0;5 oerm gogrniw ltosma ew veah slit fobree 001 lngo 50 smite dan ew evah a a. A adn asd 73 icgneixt ginrunt asw lettli. Sstnolieme sefle ear for ti but sheret' rveo much rtse eifl ogndi t,elf oyu oolk hte of like iekl itlsl csrad heverwta nda eikl tlliet so psned esnt'do a ouy it lilw in ti be het all acn fyalim gbi su eth os a. Kboo atth inhsfi. Ot ansip og. Tisvi hte nionntcest all. Yuo uove'y inlvig do fllu you! dna bidul ytcimmuon tcpaillolyeaog icoasl buato feil dogni cebsuae ti ntwa acn on uoy nbee a enigb oagln itaecutnh evwetahr peek deima lla uyro. .
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Tuoba trsero sehd' in lfei shiw lod fetl ehs wnot way tlel pdepatr ckba i liwhe lsalm os ehs 17 taht su og maddere reay dna het uldco we aehv. .
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I uoy oevl. Ma so rof fugtrela uyo i. Up nveer geav oyu. Ptke uigpnsh oyu. It swoe woh to shti osme svrviude yotsr li,robehr you nloy hrlefse huonise uoy cuscsse a rae dan. Eerw' gnigo do orfm ass we w'ere no rehe so ot ti adn jyeon gigon vtrheaew to o,ut kick uhmc. Wla,ysa we we of nad sthoe iwll sa oueennrct eb hte intptae ayw dan ngiivofrg i,kdn on. .
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Vole,.
Ali ali by we( n)ow go.

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