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...

Tbu huho(gt gto mseo lugsrget, wtdane yeetrhvgni oyu !ti uoy oyu ddi sopriteiir dan gchdaen). .
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Od thaannamt ni veli ew. Uyo kerob ocpisusa eth ahd iyct emdasr udrgni we and lived romf ouy veale klocsb a nrmeatpat hhgotut ruoy sabeuec you dan sdtinu - tjus aevel eguo,gsro the hda hrdcase pueclo heav the traeh uyo ekartm hte one nynus yrou sepoh to anmtaertp in a yuo ocslho nda slot hwne ot argd. Oaltms aubto sillt kithn uyo ryeve but imh day orsry, do 'im. Aangi you hta'vne ot penkso listl imh. 'esh ithw ybba now maerrid a. Tol it like retufu in oewrdn a atht htaw ahve htwi autbo uoy wudlo uoy bene. Hte 10 uoy hmi yersa to ttha nirtgy ervpo to hoywrt atsl ensdp eewr oyu. Aaswly uyo were. Dna we,re hhguott uyo cna yejorun opurd uoy fo rlyut ubt ttah botau vole ot on oomsnee ovepr wrngo mih eb aembec he owh yuo. Uyo be lwuod pordu so so. Dorup os aer oyu. .
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Rmeo tol a tweir uyo. Etwir utb a pytroe repao dna uyo e'wrent tsaertd onlve kcor but(i,osaim a dna ew l)ws?aya veha. Ts'i ubt ton iltls tye agol a bdlphs,eiu. Uontc on,ec klie irbfe rvnee sa of for ouesdnd wreto hcelt)anliyc reaerc isnsmsbuoi mlog,ura os bshupil ttah wteri idd oyu a ofr did nhtamireg yuo amougr,l a btu emda yuo a 'llew that ty(eh. Cthe nnlsioutcg a edmia athp you on ieiadmng in icoals ,tisedex nrwkgio emingtrak acomynp in fro a eenrv sevsmai y'euor. Uyo it eovl. Uyor dna uvostripep rndcbeliyi rcorkowes mtasr era. Etg ryuo deis patternma eaebucs yb cleap of rfom - call onw yruo uoy to the oury dnipmc,ea eth atcsurnay ndumool yuo ertaifvo - rwko ihwt. .
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Still ooldumn is adrnou. Tihs eabt 21 rsumme rcnaec be eh llwi nda. Lepepo h'se setter amn no iveleeb dlo ta'cn na eth. Nda ni llist tipahesp ogd ernegy ash upppy eh ihoobnedogrh ofr tinoreutpa negbi teh het a. In reya lreyha macrh atsl spdsea. 81 hes hse dan swa yeard asw. Hes laymfi gvae eht oevl ehrto hte tacs os oitevuld ni adn umhc lla. Rtosoeamm ehr ouyr oyu nda dna evlid bcka ese smyaeod ttapn,emar dreash dou'y the ujts bklsco ntio cyarz mfro amke ync hwti esh yuo to uoy erh mvoe ot egnuoh it esdpmroi gnlo one ocne won. Yracz it's. Atref lhyrae i god iorbseghn rhe etm het one fo esd,aps dan. . . Reahly mndae. Was iemsopr iulflfl she uyo htat. .
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Eikb het no het ccteryooml sdol a( i?tc?y we ni )hn!ktas. Ondoc iltsl ni e'wre on het psain ikngwor. Veilbee ygu in fi uoy hatt on to gihh gehu erdmiar, hte shcru ouy hlcoso taht tog hda we cna y,rlefbi. Nuedrt less ot yera of that fuslryoe lloohcaic plduel sueavib htna in na out out dan he a you be. Ogod cnise ta eyrv dnitus otn iicngpk iapshisorlent oru'ey eylhaht. Reeht ywa uyveo' been nlsgei ,own evre ubt s!imte paiperh endgaeg htta nmda ntha e'ryou. A rugpo an rveo rceleidibn woh uyo mfor fo enrve veha vpursiopet o'ueyv rea nifdrse ayw nowkn ni all. .
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Just qraain,uten 'vyeuo eslaleiycp nda in epde atls dleasoit hte adh trgowh mnimese eiln,gha lodnumo lwhie nda ryea you in. Ynoem ti a ypal vnee tctiw,h amagzni ndiog oyu urgohth mesga thme ivoed oairuvs vaeh tedniefiyl lettil new slilt uoy rtsema kaem no tem edsrifn nad dan aemsg - rmeo. Of do yneoj mroe uyo adn tserss yuo sles raf ahwt. .
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Gnlo 001 heav we a wgorngi orme ew a anht robefe tbecuk vaeh ietms 0;5 tlasmo stil 50 dan. Ngetxiic lttlei 73 gintrun aws a ads adn. Bgi slitl lfei teh so drsca hte ni nigdo etrewhav iwll ,etlf psned olko eelsf su it orf kile dna os tub be lal ouy of llitte kile a veor iamlfy aer a it te'ehsr erst eth ti eilk esleotimns uhmc yuo nca teso'nd. Htat infish okbo. Go pnasi ot. Lal teh isvit sociennntt. Acn aethunitc bsceaeu wtan toigcelylolapa uye'ov igndo y!ou ebing yuor it iefl adn lal on ehtreawv ouy ivling ullf atbou eiamd do oyu ildub eepk ilcaso aongl mctimoynu eenb a. .
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Abuot dreaptp amlsl us 'dseh atth ew os vhae eth 71 dmearde hes and eostrr ackb ewlih i ludco left og ltle wtno dol whsi yaw ehs yrae ni feli. .
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Oevl oyu i. Uyo rfo os egaflrut am i. Uoy aveg eevrn up. Ptke hsiugpn you. Ouy oynl heslfre vdsievur to o,rhbiler a who are secscsu troys ieohnsu yuo adn emos iths eosw ti. To erew' ssa uchm ckik ,tou do to arevwthe nad nigog eher ew gngio it so on ew'er fmor nyjoe. Ywa ew enaptti hetso nad we cenourten sa on alway,s idk,n hte will eb gfivgorin dna fo. .
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E,vlo.
Nwo) ail og yb (ew lai.

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