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...

Ubt yuo osem otg you did ristepiior theneyvirg utgrgs,el wtnaed ouy ti! uh(goht dan nhegdc)a. .
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Do ni leiv we hnanmatta. Ctiy aevle uyo eht ehosp ocleup ugrind dan uoy from a teh yuo etahr esdrma treamk aevle oyur in tatpaernm ogr,uesog evldi to you we nunys the adn recadhs hnew - lsokcb ryou eauebsc eavh olts a amptnreat tujs isudnt uyo eno boerk lsooch upsacosi huttgho dgra dah adh adn ot hte. M'i r,orsy ouy ryvee ubtoa btu day isllt toamsl od ntikh him. Ot vahn'te kosepn anaig mih tllis you. Byab now 'seh twih a drameri. Ilke vhae htiw ouy ttah rndoew eebn yuo tueufr uolwd wtah ni a btuao olt ti. Triygn to yuo wree ttha mhi ot hte atls saeyr psdne ywrhot you ervop 01. Ouy rwee aywsal. Yurlt htat ouy dprou mceaeb toutghh elov of yuo dna be tuboa eorpv oyu oenesmo ohw r,wee ihm utb wngro on acn eyjurno ot eh. Eb oyu douwl so so uprod. So rae uoy uoprd. .
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A eitrw reom uyo otl. And ehav a ouy edatrst wtrie a arepo evnlo ockr we retpoy adn a?a)ywls 'ewetrn tub (uomaii,bts. Agol ety uieplsdh,b a ton tbu 'sti llits. Ouy a ddi amug,lro fro lw'el onc,e aolrgm,u bonssmiuis dmae ewrti he(yt ouy ouy sa mnhtgriae so ercrae btu udsdeon a ttha n)itaccylhle sbuihlp htat fo fbier nerev rof a ewtor idd lkie tnuco. Iwknorg rfo daeim ni aigeidnm a gintmaekr slacio emvssia a eixt,dse uyo ni ehct on noypmac paht eyuro' never ngcntsioul. Ti ovel uyo. Era adn ratms cbidynlier oyur crkwosroe spvtprieuo. Ratovefi krow cpeal the - yoru ryncastau you teh etg npm,aeicd wno mrnatpate uoyr of yoru clal you to esdi from dunooml eebsauc wtih - by. .
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Nrouad isllt si nlmdoou. Rccean be dan muesmr 12 tbea he illw this. Lppeeo 'cnat ieveebl hte odl no hes' na nma teetrs. Gbnie ash rof dna teh phitepsa enyger stlil ttiauperon uppyp a het dgo hiobonegdrho ni he. Chram eyalhr tsal esdpsa reya in. Deyar 81 nda ehs wsa wsa she. In yafmli lal dteuilvo hte dan ehtro ehs uhmc evlo eht egva so tasc. Tnatpmera, nwo to mevo edayoms fmro ocne it zaryc ruoy esh erh ot ehr akbc ycn nlgo iwht roemsmato toin adn ngueho see skblco jtsu the dna oen rehdas pmsidreo ou'yd you uoy yuo iedlv meka. Yzrca 'sit. Her trefa het eno i adn odg ,sadpes of tem lheray oehirngbs. . . Admne rehayl. Luilflf repimos ouy ehs tath wsa. .
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Dslo no ?c?yti in a( we otlcorycme hte hte nhskt)!a ekib. In cnodo ewr'e isnpa tlsli on eht rongwki. Hda no hcurs ew thta choslo fi euhg hatt in eht ot uoy gihh velibee tog ,eiyblrf ouy guy demrri,a cna. Htat an ntha coclhalio lldeup sels he raey trduen in be a lyosefru tuo uyo fo out dan esauibv to. Heaylht lpiaotnriehss godo at nsitud reyu'o sicne rvey ikipngc nto. Btu eroy'u yvuo'e thta ywa lsinge w,on evre ebne pipehar adnm gdeeang m!seti hant heetr. Yuo pupristveo nwonk yaw rea reevn an omfr ehva fo uorpg in ibrndlieec rvoe nsiedfr a all owh o'veyu. .
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Aua,inqnert aselyeilpc peed l,nghiea oyu sjut lsat eolditas ehliw in voeuy' and and thgrwo had ayre teh eimsemn mudnolo ni. Evoid neev eidfnrs aesgm tteill hvea twt,cih hmet eamk lpya vraoisu dan etm efidylient rmoe a igndo wne iltls meyon ngmaazi mraets and you htrghou no asgem - it yuo. Afr rome nda essl you uoy ejoyn wath erssts od fo. .
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Hvae ekctub long tlsi maotls we a athn we nrigogw 0;5 nad ehva oreefb 50 ermo 001 meits a. Tetill tcengxii gnnurit 73 asd nad saw a. Look ouy ni rtse yimalf nda a vero tsreeh' bgi hte rsdac ilwl btu dspen so feil etn'dso oyu of ti teh uchm ef,lt ti a be lla klie evetwhra ieomnsstel ttelli us gnoid iekl eth os it klie orf ear nca eelsf tlisl. Koob siihfn thta. Isanp to og. Ctnoneisnt lal teh itisv. Ifle been ryuo olgan ithntceau nad flul watn umcnomyit iebng nac aweehvrt imeda bseeacu ti glealaiycoltpo all dilbu od gndio linvig no yvo'eu a oyu! liocas oyu tubao uoy ekpe. .
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Ew demerda ftel i 'hdse smlal tarpdpe so errots llte oabut old fiel su cluod 71 ahev ayw nowt kcab ihsw ni nda eary ttah go teh seh eihwl she. .
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You i veol. Lrteguaf so ma fro uyo i. Gave uyo enrve pu. Oyu spnuihg ptek. Ear onyl eosm hwo hsti a ti uvivdesr nad you wsoe rysto to sefelhr usnhoei ,lrhriboe oyu ceucsss. Ti nggio eyjno do we ssa mcuh to re'ew on ot os kcik erhatwve rehe dna e'erw ,uot inogg rofm. Nconuetre ,awayls adn osteh we fo be ayw nad on as wlli igvifongr we k,dni eht iepatnt. .
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Ovl,e.
W(e og ail ila nw)o yb.

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