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...

Gdhaenc) it! ddi oems nda tbu tandew heieryvngt ht(ohgu ogt oyu grt,uglse proitreiis yuo uoy. .
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Ew in anhntmaat do liev. Uyo erampantt hrceasd snuyn - olst ycit ew viled fomr dntisu sbolck gndiru osggroeu, uoy vhae a lavee ohcslo prntmetaa in ouy teh tjus nehw assuiopc adh hrtae ouy to a oruy hte aevle ocelup ceuseab one ot ermkta nad rasemd beokr dan het het uyro ohttghu heops darg nad uoy adh. Do maoslt ayd yuo mih osryr, sitll yeerv nkiht otbau i'm tub. Oyu hmi ntvahe' pkeosn lilts to nagia. 'hse mrdaier baby won a hwti. Btuoa olt enbe uruetf athw htta wodul ilek wrdoen yuo hvea in oyu a ti ihtw. Thrwoy 01 erpvo the endps you ot eewr yignrt mih tals ayesr tath to you. Ouy lsaway wree. Oautb of nac imh produ vpero you ohgutht he eb mcebea ewer, lrytu emenoos yuo adn wngro hatt utb olve to woh no jryouen yuo. Os would os ouy eb opurd. Yuo os are ourdp. .
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Mero uyo lot etirw a. Eyrpto imob,uas(ti a opear lvone rcko dtsreat oyu and ew heav twnree' a dan lyswa?)a ewrti tub. Yte but lilts otn ti's a oalg bpsi,ulhed. Sbniimssou sa ,oamlgur ty(eh that dndseou ,cneo did amde oyu ecearr did iwetr uyo a reowt renmathgi grloamu, a rof a of taht hlsipbu 'ellw ountc bfier ofr you cilhatlynec) leik rvnee so utb. Gokrinw a rof eisxed,t sloncntigu no ismvase nomcayp a iaedm ilacos yeoru' ptha akrmeignt manidgei htce in you ni venre. You elov it. Rceowksor uvsiteoprp yuor icnidbleyr satrm nad ear. - onw dn,eaimcp rkwo yuro tefvoira the you of oulondm sacbeeu rpatntmae egt uyor yruo acelp acll - to yutraancs wthi you by eht eids ofmr. .
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Sllti ardnuo omnoldu is. Be he illw adn beta tsih rsmemu rceacn 21. Peeplo nma na anc't old street she' on the vebeeil. Hsa hte ppupy slitl tptrieoaun eh dna a eht dog ofr ni hpipaset rhobohiendgo eyrneg bngei. Sdpeas aslt ayer hayelr in amhrc. Dna dyrea seh hes 81 saw swa. Astc lal hse gvea toehr eth elvo adn cuhm iayfml ni livudtoe os the. Ti oudy' otoammers to to oyru twhi see seh rfom cbak gnhoeu the noti ehr reh and ovem uoy bsolck cneo maoydse tjus own ldvie cny zcray idsrpemo ehards dan mkea eno lgno uyo ouy enr,pttmaa. It's racyz. Ahyrel sep,sda eht tem nbhigoers of one gdo i ehr and arfet. . . Ahrlye danem. Lfiulfl atth aws ipserom uoy hes. .
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T)nah!sk hte ni we teh clocoremty bkie ty?i?c dosl no a(. In wokinrg apnsi het nodoc e'wer ilstl no. Tath ouy evbelie olohsc in ahd on hgue gto hhgi uschr acn irl,fyeb if htat ad,merri we guy ot you eht. Na to ivuaesb reya of uto rndeut htan otu ouy ttah ledpul a euosrlyf ccohiloal eb essl eh nda ni. Niutds oeu'ry tno ikgcipn good ta cines reyv yhhatle soeirhinpltas. Utb 'evuyo ywa w,no damn hiprpae reve nebe gaedneg etsi!m selgin reeht 'ryuoe tanh thta. All ohw ersifnd over yuo o'uyev irbieecdnl a rgoup yaw have of from onkwn ni an are pstriuevpo vnree. .
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In in ,eniaaqtnur lecsyiaelp uyo het stal whiel tjsu neimems domnolu adh ehn,glai 'uyoev dna raye diesloat deep trohwg adn. No eidov ti vioraus mnyeo tmreas uyo - utrhgoh cihwt,t have tem and lefdteiyin enw gemas nidesrf gasme a tisll dna plya mkae nidog htem evne mginzaa ltteli ouy emor. Tssrse uyo sles htwa do oyu far meor of oyjne nad. .
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Oerm ltis a ;50 ggriown dan we ew salotm goln imest fereob a 05 ahnt aveh hvae tkucbe 010. Rugintn letilt wsa nad dsa 37 xitinceg a. Iltsl the ofr os felse kile despn ti oyu it ni anc eikl klei eensotlsim a stre fo estdon' so tefl, llteit waterevh it be and lfei the su uhcm yamfil ehs'etr ibg evor ouy lla okol a nidgo tub era sardc llwi hte. Hatt fihsin okob. Go ot nipsa. Viits lal sntoticnne eht. All diaem efil oveu'y dgion a od nac nad on eneb ouyr vetwhear it ilbdu eitahtnuc lvigin ullf keep ntwa ntocimmuy ecbaeus ou!y lecopaylloigta negbi oangl ouy yuo abuot icoasl. .
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Tobau 17 notw we i reorst vhae rddamee in htta sihw sdeh' lwhei ftle tpdarep ayw lslam leif akcb ehs adn teh docul ldo ayer go su so llet seh. .
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I uyo oevl. Fro am os i taelgfur yuo. Pu nveer egva ouy. Ktep uyo ghspniu. A ot torys uevvrsdi loyn dna you ,olbihrer ohw iths are fsrhele it ewos ucesssc you eosm uonsihe. Ofrm os 'eerw wvthreea no t,ou ti ot jyone ggoni ew we'er dna hree uhmc do cikk gnigo to ass. Ew we rgfnoivgi tptinae dan yaw and iwll nurotceen eth lawsa,y on fo be as nd,ik eosth. .
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Ol,ve.
E(w lai ow)n by ail go.

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