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...

Utb mose wdtane ouy e,lgsurtg did uyo vgehyteinr ogt d)aegchn eorpsiiitr you h(guoth t!i nad. .
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We ni tanmtaahn do ievl. Ardg iusspoca pattmrean neo bocksl oebrk uroy from dustin ruoy atkmer rsedam and ctyi dan ni vleae eelav the utjs evdli het uyo ouy euopcl a tlso sohloc uysnn hda uthhtgo dachser you wenh oyu het csaeube dna esoph eht uoy aevh uge,grsoo tahre to dha to - a ew aaptrnmet driugn. Ikhnt boaut 'im verey ayd but od ouy itlsl yrs,or mtaosl imh. Mhi v'anteh ganai ot you pkneso itlsl. Bbay iwth 'seh won a rmdraei. It ulodw in eneb htta oyu hatw rweond liek a aevh tobua oyu tol wtih refutu. Hyorwt inygrt 01 yuo last that ot sdpne uoy imh ot orpev ayesr teh were. You ayswal reew. Voel ihm touab rytul opdur ouy ewre, orepv fo he ot utgthoh be mebace oenryju htat owh seoonem rnowg can nda utb you no you. Os puodr duolw so you eb. Uopdr ouy os rea. .
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Tlo a moer uyo eitrw. A?laws)y tetsadr eotryp a nleov wietr mbioaisut(, we but ehva dan dan rcko apore a 'rentew yuo. Sli,upbhed a ont lgao utb t'is tye ltlsi. Rewit a uoa,lrmg oyu armgtihne vrnee alrogu,m emda ofr yht(e fo ,cone a rcaree uyo rfieb for that idd oyu utonc htta as btu ddi lnitcay)ehlc bsiplhu a so ddnoesu lkei wll'e trewo issbisoumn. Kinwogr no oanpycm lsacoi amriegtkn madngiei a in nevre ceht damie maisvse ni orf a 'oyeru oyu ogtsncinlu phat tisex,ed. Yuo ti lveo. Okrecsorw nad aer idnlrcbeyi tsuieprpvo tasrm uyor. - eht twih yruntacsa ouyr tpearntma fo lnumood - aed,mpnci onw eoivtafr frmo lalc uoy pleac tge eids to eubsace orkw yuo yb het uory yuro. .
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Lmdouon odurna is llits. Nad hist eb rsmmeu illw nrccae 21 eh tbae. Tsrtee na dol eeevlbi eth sh'e on mna t'cna poeple. Ereygn eh hoorhndgbioe ppuyp dna in egnib eht god ash tslli a rfo sphtaepi het oprtaentiu. Stal alyerh aepssd ahmrc in arey. Saw esh edyra aws she dan 18. Vage the teh cast vloe toulveid ni dna she lifamy lal hmcu oehtr os. Uyo it you ot tino logn ehr ees kema maesoomtr pmediros bokcls hse ofmr veom and wno het noce ihtw ruyo pmrtta,nae nda ysademo ougnhe to stju cyn zayrc erh yuo iveld one dyo'u ahdres kbca. Azycr its'. Eyrlah pde,ass dgo etm i rehgsonib eno of adn het efart hre. . . Aeyrhl nmeda. Ifflull atth irepmso oyu aws hes. .
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Lccrmtooey ktn)h!sa no ew teh (a dols eht bkei in ciy??t. Ew're codon in istll orkgiwn het spnia no. Uchrs iybfrel, hatt to hgih gueh had rreadim, yuo eevbiel got if in we atth gyu no olcohs het ouy anc. Yuo na eb eh out atht ot ryae a hocllcaio thna olueryfs of ldelup urntde uto ni adn sesl aebsuvi. At estiraiphlons thhleay iicgpkn not vrey dinust roye'u nicse ogdo. Reiapph reve atnh aeneggd !meist that andm trhee n,wo tub way veyo'u nebe liesgn roy'ue. Evro voeyu' sinerfd oknnw a rae fo supoprveit lbeedcriin vnree ni gpruo omrf aveh owh way an oyu lla. .
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Dna in ujts pdee yapeellsci enmmesi ln,iahge sioltade in rgtwho ehwil ouy aaeqrtnnui, e'uoyv mldonou dan lsta adh erya het. Srmtea fyeietidln you eltlit - heva aizamgn eomr ch,titw a ouy ieodv vnee tlsil nmyoe ewn svuroia nad aply mte rthugho hmte no gsmae akem it fdenris noigd and sgmae. Adn athw far lsse yuo oyu sersts omre of od yeonj. .
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A 50 50; ehav ehav silt a ntha nad omlast steim omer ew 010 ekutcb rgigonw ngol ebofre we. Das 73 tnrniug aws inctgeix ellitt a nda. Keil lyaimf oyu teh klei gniod ilef teh selfe rae a it big cna nad fo neleitmsso chum sdarc vwreteah ouy ti lliw teh loko rfo su lla ltsli ni ti odntes' a tf,le os rest os endps heestr' leik illtte ubt eovr eb. Book nifihs atht. Go asnip ot. Eht lla iisvt ottneinscn. Golna oingd medai lflu eascueb tbuoa eenb lal you tawn it uo!y nacihtteu rwveathe cna nad uroy iilgnv iengb idlub od oicpgallyaolet ekep cyutmomni on 'uovye a icslao yuo ilef. .
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Ubato dmderea hes ielf ihewl 17 eorstr dcuol aehv in su nad seh depatrp dlo ew i swih de'hs eht ltel eflt og yaw twno kbca mllas os yera atht. .
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I evlo ouy. Tulgfare uyo ma i for so. Gvae up oyu venre. Ptek sphnugi oyu. Hwo it ysort evdsrvui csscesu wseo smeo to and insohue you feserhl tsih are uyo rh,rliboe olyn a. Yejon no cumh rvweeaht ot,u to gigno ew reeh nigog ot wer'e ass os ew're fmro dna kkic do it. No ipeattn ew aalsyw, ongrvfigi sa het ntrncoeeu ki,nd adn eb way adn we will fo hsote. .
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Eo,lv.
)won by ew( go ila ial.

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