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 meos tadenw ubt e,sutrglg eeiynhrvgt t!i uyo otg oth(ghu idd orrietsiip cgd)ahne oyu dna. .
.
Ni veli aatahmntn ew od. One otsl eelav uoy oe,gsgoru nweh ustdni nmatreapt haetr uyo mtetranap to nad mofr and yoru hte rgad oiapsucs peculo ahd hte ginurd eratkm kreob aesrdm a - eht dhasrce usjt hseop yuo in ot yrou cseebau we tciy uoy adn hsocol gthhtuo dlvie kcsobl nnuys adh aevel a aevh yuo the. Slaomt ry,sro ayd tbuoa od imh tnkhi rvyee tbu ltsil i'm oyu. Knpseo ot anvteh' imh aigna stlli you. Tihw nwo bayb a sh'e rdiamer. Elki waht in ehav uoy hatt oabtu wnrode ti uyo whit a dluwo bnee utfuer olt. Woythr 01 hmi irtgyn ouy weer ot yaers ot uyo oervp ttah dspne eht last. Layswa eewr oyu. Prove you ee,wr tub othuthg ot nac mbaeec ultry eb hmi he btuoa fo orudp ouy atth nrowg neemsoo uoy uneorjy owh nad on oevl. So os wdluo eb ouy pdrou. Yuo so era rudpo. .
.
Ouy omre wreit lto a. Toeyrp aopre 'etrnew nveol uisa(mto,ib and tirew tedasrt a but we ahve ouy adn s)yalw?a a rokc. Sitll eyt s'ti tno a eibp,lhsud aglo btu. Fiber ddi deam a utb sa uondesd oyu a atmihngre for klei m,rgaolu otewr creear htat vnree nceo, uoy taht uyo rfo ctnou idd fo w'lle os a nlcclha)teiy eyth( irewt gal,urmo ssumbnoiis pubhisl. Enrev arngkteim y'uoer smesiav gutliconns on emadi in rfo a solica ni tahp poamcyn a geidimna eise,txd wgonrik yuo ecth. Ti elov uyo. Are stram ryou sruoptepiv nad oswrreokc bicdyenrli. Etg crnyaasut - yuo whit raepmntat of yruo veotfria oyu clal uebacse celap the - edsi to het oury i,acmednp nwo oldnumo okrw by from yuor. .
.
Mdluono is uoanrd slitl. Lliw eh 12 htsi murmes ccnare tbea and be. E'hs tetser no elvbiee na old nma eeppol 'nact hte. Treotinaup god a het in for dna egnib eiaphtsp ahs nregye upppy the he odinohhborge tlsil. Ryea earyhl rmcah ltsa epssad in. Ehs reyda 18 she nda was aws. So loev nad lyimfa teh in esh eotrh umhc all vega the viludtoe tacs. Yduo' noe sdeahr wtih bosclk ldevi eovm gounhe ese ayzcr smiropde het it eootmmars rhe to aekm hes you ot nda oyu long nyc pe,tnmtara sjut toni ocne her uoy rmfo abck ryou nad nwo sdyomae. 'tis zryac. Erh i eohbgnris hte dgo hlayer met and eno ps,deas fo etfar. . . Eadmn heaylr. She htat asw oyu fllulfi ipesorm. .
.
A( eocmcltroy we on na!)tshk ni sdol eht ibek teh t??cyi. Ipsan in w'ere ndcoo hte wirnokg lslti no. Dha ttah ucrhs ugy hueg teh if ighh uyo htta ni radr,eim ot no veeblie ,eyflbri cohslo nca ew uyo got. Atht fo uot renutd sesl anth cahlolico ni avesiub uto ouy a yorulsef an to be nad eh aery lupedl. At hthelya sneci irpnoelsaitsh pigiknc oyue'r ont odog itnuds ryev. ,onw ttha neeb eangdge btu airhpep eevr emts!i anmd legnis yoe'ru way vo'eyu eethr ahtn. Euoyv' a an inresdf ospievptru lal uyo nwkon aevh eervn rea awy in vore hwo omrf ougrp of bcnereidil. .
.
Aeniruna,qt teh pslyleciae iehlw dah uoy disoaetl tsju depe tsla ghrwto moodunl ni adn in ouye'v igna,hle dan sneeimm year. Tme aruovis no tlilet it a nwe otghhru vahe dna dan tlsil ermo - yuo aylp onyem mthe eedtfiliny dvoie resnfdi wchit,t eakm nvee esmag aremts maseg inaazmg uyo ogind. Nda esls estsrs fo od mreo htaw eonyj oyu arf oyu. .
.
Heva ebuckt more nad iemts ;05 a a aevh 50 freeob mstoal anht gnol tsil 001 gonirgw ew ew. A eltitl rnintgu tgxcniie dsa adn aws 73. A ardcs ibg in ti yuo nac eth het etsr odtnse' lliw a fro isenemlsot uyo dna lla esfel ubt ti elik lmiayf whaevetr lkei godin lkei hmcu ,flte rthe'es the ielf olko os rae isllt ervo os ti littel spned su of eb. Thta fisihn book. Go to snapi. All nsinttcone eht itvis. Cbauees od sicloa lniigv imaed tabou flei onlag bnee mitomncuy uyo ahvterew ekpe ti lyiolalaoptgec no wnta idngo vyeuo' cnhtaeuit lal yruo you a udbli yuo! cna lful enbig dan. .
.
Haev eht edtpapr amlls etlf old erdmdae htta dshe' dna siwh otuba us we in ntow eiwhl kbac ayw os 71 i coldu fiel ayre ltel og ehs hes srtroe. .
.
I uoy evol. I uoy rof ma geaftlur os. Nveer vgae uoy up. Spngihu ekpt uyo. Yuo trsoy uyo rae hire,brol ecsuscs ot meso ti a ohw flehres ihst dan vrsidvue wseo uehnois nloy. 'weer cmuh ot ssa ewer' oeynj kcik ggino ot heer nad giogn eraehwvt ti od no os t,ou rmfo ew. Nad eb ew the lwli adn sa ,wylsaa ieatnpt infviggro yaw no ohest we oerntunec nkd,i fo. .
.
Oev,l.
Go ail w(e w)on ial yb.

This user has written an update to this letter.To see what they wrote, please

Press ← and → on your keyboard to move between letters

Write new comment

Load more comments