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...

Oiersptiir ddi oyu otg ti! you ginevyrteh tweand dnecg)ah mose nda to(uhgh ouy esu,gltgr ubt. .
.
Ew anatahntm in viel od. Aopcsusi ostl and dan ngriud useceba hte a hcsloo yuo etkarm yuro ivdle romf yitc ramsde dah - udntsi hte ehwn tntrpeaam in yuo eht and ew yuo dhcsera one oepsh uyro adh ot aeevl utjs rehta to u,gegsoro tmanatpre oceulp eth nnuys oghthtu aevel you kolscb ehav rbeok uoy a rgad. Tub ady khitn sllit aosltm i'm atbou oyu veyre mih sorry, od. Mhi ot uoy env'tha pnesko stlli iaagn. E'sh onw a byab ihtw direrma. Feuurt kiel eneb a ni baotu uoy loduw owrend that it otl ehav wtha itwh you. Ouy to lats ewer eth yigtnr to yuo wythro asyre ttha 10 epsnd hmi revpo. Waalsy uoy eerw. Onseeom dropu ttah imh of dan emceab anc joreuyn gonwr ubt oyu ot eh yuo otaub ee,wr no oyu hthotgu lveo ryltu evpor owh eb. Os duwol be yuo duorp os. Os are uoy orudp. .
.
Lot yuo a oemr tiwer. Paore utb ew krco yuo s)lwaa?y adn adsettr a evoln mau(is,tobi tiwer dna a protey avhe weter'n. Tub ist' ,hlsibdepu slilt alog a nto eyt. Recaer a rewit did thta eibfr so rof ofr nsismbosui ekil as reenv uoy tbu ouy dsunode ouy ngeimathr m,raguol ,neco oewrt amed a did y(teh mrg,olau onctu tath lhibusp a fo lw'el tallheicy)nc. Ni in atph ,tiedxes calios eiamngrkt ueoyr' diame uoy maopcyn nmideaig for a vreen a no hetc tocsgulinn svsmaie kogrwni. Elov you ti. Rae marts iuetpovspr sookrercw uyro nda lnyerdbcii. Ihwt ruoy yuo iesd uoyr form lpace alcl ratncasuy meprtatan egt otevifar ruyo rkow - hte now - yb pmcea,din eth esacbeu uoy fo ot domounl. .
.
Nmlouod udarno si ltsli. Be eacrnc illw msrume nad teab 12 he hsit. Nam an on het bleeeiv he's anct' esertt ldo ploeep. Obhidgnoehro hpiaptse in ogd ofr being a and ngeyer rttineapuo uppyp teh ahs eh sltil teh. Yrleha hcmar ni spdaes year tlas. Ehs 18 nda was yrdea she was. Eht humc ovel she eht egav lmyiaf eudtvilo lla eroth acts in adn so. Uegnho onw keam y'dou ouy mosoetram yracz reh kbca etp,taamrn ot to oyu bkslco enco ielvd orfm rdmseopi gnol evom ruoy eahdrs into eth nad cny ti whti yuo neo edoymas adn see hse ujts her. Si't zrcya. Ogd yahrle neo hre eht a,espsd i erfta met fo higenosrb dna. . . Hreyla dmaen. Atht iuflfll mpories swa yuo ehs. .
.
Nk!ast)h no ymroclceto yic?t? ni the beik we a( lsod eht. No lltsi wngrkio ewer' ni pinas eht odnco. Sclooh rhsuc you in eelvieb thta can no li,feybr we to ehug dha irreda,m ttha otg eth hgih if guy uyo. Ludpel htta eurntd in efolusyr ot be na sesl he tuo otu ahnt of euisvab dna a uoy yare oichlalco. Hetalyh snielitraoshp ogdo kpginci vrye ta ton nsutid o'ruey icesn. Ahtn eagdgen won, erve !tiesm ahtt anmd been yev'ou 'uyroe ayw trehe esgnil but reaihpp. In mfro u'eyvo neerv an a voer dfrsnei of yaw uyo have all hwo ear ovtreipsup nwonk urogp eindrcblei. .
.
Ni rthgow whlie lsceylpiae yu'voe and e,alhngi tusj ,raqatuinne salt eedp in dna oyu odnmulo eiemmns hte sotldiea arey hda. - rnesfid aemsg neev nad tiwht,c ogidn met ti egsma you etllit dna htem agmianz uoy lstli make vasiuro seatmr haev tdlifeieyn no enw neomy a video oerm gtuhhro apyl. Od ssel you of yuo mroe awth rfa strses eynjo and. .
.
We asomlt ahve 100 eorm mites ahev a and 05 onggwir 50; ew reofbe a etbcku hatn logn ilst. 37 tgicneix ninurgt was a dna ettill dsa. Lal reov eetrh's lkei of ttilel and ni fro os het epnds acn sno'det it lkoo ear leif us os ti yflmia a mhuc bgi lilst elik uyo tbu lliw iogdn tsre ti leki teh eb eethavwr lesef a ouy te,fl itoeselsmn sradc eth. Ihsifn oobk taht. Go sanip to. Ennstnitco het sviti lal. Aceubes !ouy all eneb ctmmioynu no idaem ryou efil iebgn utietchan nogla and yuo lpatylaioeogcl iilgnv uabot loisca udlbi fllu it yuo a can uye'ov tnwa do wevhtaer eepk godni. .
.
Su flet i ihelw that shiw dan dhe's 71 lfei yare eth ehs so go tlel evah ldo udloc kacb toabu tpardep she mslal wya dmareed we sorter ni tnow. .
.
Ouy i evlo. Ofr uyo i refltgua so ma. Oyu erven aveg pu. Petk uoy hignpsu. Nylo a who ysotr to nda it meos ssucecs wsoe aer shti ebi,rlohr eusnohi yuo vdrsievu esfrlhe you. Uhmc otu, ot rw'ee here it ngigo ssa ot on ckki 'rwee we dna ewvtrahe os enojy ofmr do igong. Wlyasa, conuntree igogfnvir nad on be nipttea as wlli oehts nad we ,kind of way ew teh. .
.
Ve,ol.
Lia go by n)ow (ew ali.

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