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...

Ghnecad) uoy hoghu(t smoe did gtrulsg,e etadwn egvyniehtr !ti nda tub otg you oiirrpeits uyo. .
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In we od evil tthamnnaa. Nidgru a uyo royu clobsk - argd mekrat you eno teh otls hte tsju dah auopssci nda uyo scohlo eebsacu a velae frmo enatmrapt obrek hda untisd eavh eth leocpu syunn tmrnaptae to sgur,ooeg nad hnwe evldi we your ahret city dan leeva ouy huhtotg hpseo ni adesmr rhsdcea eth to yuo. Verye tinkh 'mi hmi ,orsry lltis do utb lmsato ouy ady uboat. Itlsl mhi you agnai h'eavnt eokpns to. Ithw a hes' won aybb driaemr. Iekl athw yuo ouy rueuft eben it tihw a wrnedo ni udlwo abtou thta eavh tlo. Vorpe 10 lsta ot mhi tnrigy teh eerw you htat yuo to endsp esyar ryhwot. Alaswy ouy wree. Him ryult thohugt be wrogn eew,r fo vleo ubota he yuo to revop dan ahtt utb uyo hwo yonrjue prudo cna oyu osoneem abceem no. Ouy be dropu ouwdl so os. So era you drpuo. .
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Tiewr mero lot a yuo. Ouy a rkoc n'rtwee a bt,iiosum(a ew ?alwy)sa rtiew ubt levno nad oeapr oetypr aehv dan atsdrte. Nto olga ts'i tbu a yet elhu,ipsbd lilts. Dmae a ntouc elwl' oyu meaihngtr rtowe oyu nethaiccyll) ekli ma,ugorl oddnesu ddi y(hte a hatt os fo as taht ,lamrguo ddi smibuissno nevre beirf wtier shulpib orf tbu eo,nc errace fro a uoy. On pnacyom iet,xesd veern in esiasmv ru'eoy a iscnnougtl ni irgowkn cisaol phat hcet dmeai a rfo tiaegmnrk uoy eaimngdi. Lvoe yuo ti. Ruyo blricenidy nad purevpisot rea oroswerkc trsam. Uryo twih ievrtofa you - yruo wrok cplae ryou now tntmeapra fo het egt dnumool by yuo trsyaaunc esid clla eth c,nmpaied rfmo ot - aseecbu. .
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Udrnoa is tslli ounmdol. Iwll atbe be he mruesm dan stih 12 ccaner. No ileeveb eppeol esh' dol na het 'tnca man erstet. Regyen tsipeaph outeatprni herobnodohgi dan the hte he ni a pupyp sha ofr niegb dgo sitll. Lyehar eyar salt arcmh adesps ni. Asw she 81 aws rdyea she and. Etroh nda olve laiymf mcuh uodvteil eht lla os in hte tcas agve esh. Rtsmeooma emka rhe nlgo nda adn it saerhd yuo to ouy reh cone levdi oyur ycn ees morf doysmae onghue a,pnemartt now ot teh hes wtih sdpemior abck rzacy moev inot yuo oen lbkocs ustj 'uydo. Ist' arycz. Ehr gdo yrlhae ess,pda noe i emt nda rfeat eht hoensibrg fo. . . Ndmea rahley. Oyu ilflluf smorepi wsa hatt she. .
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Ebki in (a teh we n)!skhta osdl ic?t?y eht no rccyoelmot. Nsipa ni riwokng w'ere ltisl nodco on eth. Guy ahd ot uyo htat rreiamd, no hihg eth bflyi,re ni chrsu cohlos ew oyu acn that if evbilee geuh tog. Uoy a dan in out rdnteu fo he hoaicllco than uflesroy eb ivusaeb uto that ot esls an eludlp reya. Hhyatle tno ta 'ryueo nsiec revy ikpincg istndu odog soslptieianrh. Veu'oy ganegde pripaeh tnha eerth w,on wya ubt lgseni !tmies ahtt eerv mdan eneb y'euro. Ohw kownn aveh o'vyeu revne lrdcbeenii ywa a fo fmro esnfdir orev uogpr lal in uprvseopit uoy na era. .
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Lewhi in ni the dah dan uyo ycpselilae usjt eepd eemnism and nieghl,a alts rohwgt yrea odlisate yueo'v q,netaauirn dnoulmo. Emth ti - tlleit idvoe nogdi hi,wtct etm edsnifr aesgm aivurso kema meyno yuo masetr trhguoh and aemsg on dan enev nwe reom ldyietnfei oyu anmziag ahve aply tlisl a. Srests uyo yoejn hwta lses do fra nad yuo remo of. .
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5;0 vhea tsli utcbke orem we a vhea 50 nda tlasmo we iwrggno glno tisme nath 001 a bfereo. Etllti giecxnti 37 urntgin was dsa a adn. Dan h'eerst ni su so pnsed a fo you oyu klie sltil so gidon it eslef eht ucmh ibg a eth acrds ielk ltleit acn nsmetolesi ielf l,tfe iymalf leki ear voer raehwetv tub it kolo tsre otned's it teh rof lwil lal eb. Sifihn atht okbo. Ot saipn og. Hte itcntonnes lla tiivs. Lyllopgaceioat niligv ti ouy! nebe ufll ouy uoy od lioacs ouevy' ekpe lgnoa a bluid adn caebesu uobta ogidn no ruyo lla wnta feil ewheavrt ncyotmimu eibng nac ettahiucn aeidm. .
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Lalms ywa ew 17 i bkac colud reya while ahtt eht ifle apteprd wish eltl og owtn adn obaut ehs ni lod us so eahv hse tefl rsreot adeemdr 'dehs. .
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I ovle oyu. Uyo i os ma ofr rgutlafe. Uyo reven up vgea. Hpngusi uyo pket. Ylon it a evduvirs to swoe you scuescs frelshe omse aer and shineou oyu styor ohw re,irlohb itsh. Ot rw'ee yenoj ti and no arvehwte ngogi umch so erw'e mrof to,u ot ckik we giong od sas reeh. Ew and unerconet sy,lwaa eth ayw as and fviigrogn ew no iwll be aitetnp i,nkd of toseh. .
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,vleo.
Yb ail ew( ail og now).