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...

Uoy adn otg dnwtae mseo hht(uog idd edhag)nc ouy i!t surtg,gel tbu yuo tisoepriir nrieythegv. .
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Ew nnttamaah liev do ni. Kerbo ketmar adh het dgar ,uoorgegs ni ertah a eleva hvae teh ouy ynusn tnsdiu hoguhtt adn asemrd cehsard the tamparetn mfor and loochs sebaeuc hnew ildev eveal oyu hpseo ouy ot ugdrni a we anpeatmrt jtus hda clobks lepcou nad yruo ot lsto you scaioups oen ityc - you oyru eht. Yda od im' masolt tbu ltisl thkin hmi sr,oyr tboua ryeve yuo. H'tavne igana nekpos to isllt him uoy. Abby a twih idaerrm wno es'h. Ni uyo lto dowlu ouy tath ikel vaeh ahtw it a tbuao future eenb tihw ewrndo. Rewe eth 01 aesry to despn pvero lats ttha ouy ot uoy yrtwho nrtygi mih. Ewre uyo alywas. Yuo nyreujo acn ot he dan yuo ameecb oughtht but uoy ubtao ovrep imh be smeneoo odpur woh fo erw,e evol onrwg htat tlyur no. Be rudop uldow os oyu so. Orpud rea uoy so. .
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Uoy emor lto a ewrit. Wsa)?lay a proae ockr nda veah rewti nloev and btu ee'wnrt a dsterat you mitaosui,b( ew oerytp. Ilstl hpblisude, si't btu a olag yet ont. Ellw' btu rgou,alm as litycchale)n unotc a uyo tath of reevn orf econ, iebfr ihuspbl so gmruaol, uyo idd atth rareec a idd orf mtnreigah uyo oibssmunsi undsdoe a kile itwer retwo e(yht mdae. You yaponcm chte mdiea ernev eimdnaig a vseamis locsai dixest,e ni iteakrmng ikrnwog oreyu' orf on a nsnloitugc hapt in. Olve oyu ti. Dan rea iiedylcbrn corwkseor rtsma itrpseuvop oryu. Yruo deis by llac tryscaanu asbuece teh ot het own - fo oyu wthi donuoml dcnpimea, wrok oyu uoyr uyro - teg mfor pelca otravefi ttreapnma. .
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Uoodlnm si tlsli rdaoun. Eh be 12 itsh rcncea beat nda wlli umserm. Ttrsee on sh'e old eolepp het nma beeveil t'nca na. Odg odobgrheiohn puypp eh nad litls in rof a yeegrn eht hsatpipe tupainorte bnige sah het. Ssadpe ayer salt rayhel chmar in. Hse aryed hes asw dna 81 wsa. Lfaymi dna thore seh lla evga astc hte oiultevd os cuhm levo hte in. Bskolc uory akbc ot ehr mevo rhdase nwo ehr nglo keam see ti ipdomers zrayc dan esh uyo dyesoam 'udoy neo eth enoc ouy to aemtpanr,t ngeohu iwht oyu fmor tsju noti cyn nad vedil mmeoatsor. T'si aczyr. Dna yhlear rniosgebh erh ogd met hte farte i ,adssep one of. . . Ayhelr dmane. Rmspeio thta hse aws uyo lufifll. .
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Sth!)nak ni lsod the toceycomlr ?yti?c (a keib het ew on. Nisap doonc iwrgkon het on we'er ilslt ni. No we the oyu ttha anc thta usrch gehu eevblei if ahd hghi uyo ocohls tog e,rdaimr ugy ot lrbi,eyf ni. Locicohla luledp to yuo arye eh na a tuo slse of ni eausibv and ntha otu rtednu oysrlefu htta be. Gncipki 'ryeuo nto doog htalehy dnstiu vyer cinse sspnlheioatir ta. Riaephp o'eryu awy than bnee enislg atth y'ouve adnm veer geagdne ,wno sitem! utb heetr. Ev'yuo verne in lla oknwn seindrf a rae woh an over of you heav orustepvip romf ywa icreilendb orpug. .
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Dmnuolo nda qr,nitanuea nad uyo ahd epailsceyl laignh,e reay tsal ni nmimese eth sjut ni oaiesltd gotrwh ue'ovy wehil edpe. Nda and leiltt nzimaga rmeo uoy paly enev emags - aekm cthitw, tlsil gsaem it have on idgon omyne emht dersifn etamrs yuo soauvir ohhgtru dtynielfei a dovie wne tme. Uoy estsrs ssle htwa fra nda of remo oyu od noejy. .
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Wgronig 100 05; timse mltaos ognl nhat heva a utkceb 05 we tlis a reom dan foerbe we vhea. Aws ads utngrni tellti 73 icngtexi a and. The nomessitel nda lefes so niogd eikl hte rfo like lmiafy anc all flet, yuo a lwli it nesdp ni klie tllsi oolk era hter'es uyo eb teh tlelti os it eevtrawh leif fo uchm sadcr vroe a gib us erts odn'tse btu it. Fisnhi oobk hatt. To sanpi go. Visti het oinnetcnts lal. Oyu cna uehncttia esbaeuc ilef oyru ebne mdaei ildub uyo lascoi all tauob rvtawhee nad liigvn lluf it lapgieootlcayl nogla wtna uy!o od e'uyvo mncytmuio on odnig epke a nebgi. .
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Su eth dermead dhes' nowt old og hse 71 perdapt tlel ehiwl cakb so mlsal we sihw ni hse awy telf htat eyra iefl heav nad esorrt lcudo tuaob i. .
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Uyo i leov. Uyo os for ma ufraglet i. You nveer pu evga. Yuo tpek uisgphn. Re,hrlboi cesssuc rfelhes smoe you rstoy hwo ot iths ouy swoe a ti rae olny reviuvds nad oseunhi. Noggi ,uto ignog sas yjneo to 'ewre hree ew to no 'erwe nad do vewhetar cmuh it os ickk ofrm. Fo riniofggv eoernnctu no eosth and intepta a,sywla teh we wya ki,dn we eb liwl nda sa. .
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Eovl,.
Lia ial go o)wn yb w(e.

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