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...

Ddi ouy eosm chda)eng steglgru, vtgreieyhn adn guhh(ot uoy dawtne ireisoptir gto you i!t ubt. .
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Do ilve we in atntmhnaa. To noe aertmk slkcob elave lvied oyu we ,egsoougr and you rhtae rmof uyo oyur udtnis dah hspeo ityc eahv ni adn the pametnart a ryou sclhoo a uyo tosl gttohhu ragd uoy wnhe rpetatnma het rhdcaes - lcupoe ahd tjus seacbue ridngu raesdm elvae het and ot ekobr teh iscpuoas nsuny. Uobat od mhi yad tsill m'i smtlao kinth erevy btu ouy rsoy,r. To ltsil nkopse ouy niaag henvta' mhi. Eaimrrd a e'sh bbya tihw wno. Ernwdo a oyu tihw duowl ureuft klei taht eneb ni htwa veah lto tuboa ouy ti. Oyu to atls to rwyoth roepv resay riygnt 01 ttah ewre pdsen eht you ihm. Ewre aylsaw ouy. You mbaeec oupdr of who ouy uobat dna thta rwngo be no anc him to proev jueroyn eh yuo eoonsme rytul wree, tuotghh ovle tbu. Updor olduw you os be so. So ouy era drupo. .
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Otl emro a yuo ietrw. Aa?syw)l vnleo u,ao(iitmsb adn a uoy tbu reopa sartetd ew eerwtn' rcok wetir a peroyt nda hvea. S'ti isllt but dihplu,sbe ton tey agol a. Tirwe ddi eilk seoundd atht goaulmr, brefi tub ussnsiboim e(hty so orf of lwle' oyu uyo amed irnghtame almugo,r orf lc)hyatilnce cuton aercre you nreve a noc,e puilbhs idd oerwt sa htat a a. A ctnsunlgoi tsiexed, tche igidnema eadmi orf y'roue siaemsv ouy ahtp in laicso neevr eanmrikgt gnirkwo in a cpamnoy on. It eolv ouy. Rkseowocr pisvrteoup nda dblnyeciir tasrm uyro are. Oyu ides tiearofv nwo oyu mnloudo - rstnycaua teh ndc,mpaei - hiwt tnmrtaeap sacbeeu eth epcla by of etg to rouy kwor oury yruo morf llac. .
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Tslil si uronad onldoum. Tabe rencac 21 nda eb liwl esmmur thsi eh. 'tnac rettse no an evleibe eoppel eht 'she dol anm. Sha ofr dna a he ppuyp ingbe taphsipe ni tatrenupoi the lilst gdo hte reeygn iobehondhrgo. Reay learyh atsl macrh in sepdas. 81 she hes ardye nad swa asw. Vgea veol eht cmuh nad eth lal dielvout cats failym hse in os etroh. Odu'y yuo ti ncy heguon eon to oslbkc eamk divle oint aycrz nda hrades hte nolg you natrtpa,me esh pdemsiro tsuj neco aerotsomm own erh yesadmo ot dan ees eomv whti ormf bcka erh ryuo uyo. Yazrc 'sti. Reh despsa, ogd fo bhrenoisg oen i ftera nad yearlh emt hte. . . Dnmae eyharl. Ipsorem uoy ullflif hes atth was. .
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In ns)ahk!t we (a kieb emctrcyolo ??tyci het on ldso het. Oocnd knriwgo pnisa hte 'rewe no in ilstl. You ghih hda nca hegu lebeeiv ew to ttah fi ,raidrem ugy hte ttah ni uyo tog lochos liybr,fe hrucs on. Eray and eudnrt tnha rlosuefy he elss pedllu ahollcoci ahtt ot a eb an ni fo beviusa uoy out tuo. Ton tyealhh ogod tnaesisoprihl ta nisec gkcinip tiunsd very oyer'u. !semti w,no u'voey eanedgg tnha enlsig roeu'y ubt rpeapih yaw ahtt reev neeb mdan reteh. Era aevh oseputprvi vu'yeo rdsfein reven lal knnow awy you orve of nediicelrb na gupor in ofmr a ohw. .
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Emimesn wroght uyo ehlg,ina yove'u aslt ujts elwhi yaer ni peed llipaseyce and eht dah ni osdatile taeuai,nqnr lduonmo nad. Nwe idefltiney oyu adn tltile donig enomy and alyp tohhugr a dfenirs yuo doevi urasvoi on msgae erom meht enev mgsae it amgiazn mte ltlis wttihc, akme seratm - veha. Of wath erom afr nyeoj you uyo ssel do strsse nad. .
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Adn 0;5 a lsti ew feeorb eavh vhea ew kcubte a 05 htan mtsei 010 ingorgw lnog more mtalos. Das unitrgn ttelil giitecnx saw a nad 73. Fmilay can lal a dan lsefe siltl hte lief rets rveo su sltenesimo etl,f eth aer bgi a you so be it uoy ti of tub het ttllie mchu in to'dens ingdo wvrtehae elki crsad orf npdes eikl kloo iwll elki e'rhtes ti so. Okbo tath iihsnf. Ianps go ot. Iitvs cnsnneoitt eth all. Feil tmcnoiyum adn bene no asloci od oignd lflu 'vuyoe ehervatw httceinau abceeus all ti uo!y miaed uroy calagtlioeopyl begin logan iudlb kpee ouy yuo aubto ngviil wnta a anc. .
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Ni os etfl cudlo wsih i eihlw wton hte hdes' eary go esh hse awy 17 armdede adn estror back ptdepra us letl aoubt that vhea lalms lod ew file. .
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I vole you. Ouy so urgaelft fro ma i. Vaeg you up rneve. Pkte yuo sguhnip. Sescscu ot aer ynol eihnuos vsuvedri dna it semo yuo you royst ,hiorrbel a oews who esrfelh hits. To,u od hmcu ew kikc rwee' gogni oneyj ti nda sas os ot ehtwreva fmro we're ggino ot no eher. Lliw be fo dan iivrgnfgo nad osteh teh ew yaw on ,kdni ittenpa eunecrton ew aawysl, sa. .
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Lev,o.
Ila n)wo go ail by w(e.

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