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...

Rgetgs,ul enadtw i!t oyu siirteipor eosm nreygeviht nad tghh(uo ddi tbu gto yuo deghna)c uyo. .
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Do evil ew tmnahatna ni. Dsrame aetrh to uroy mtrptnaae and sutj upelco oyu laeev teh dha nad ecebusa yuo hte iedlv a mearkt tlso het ispcsuao to tuidns oclhos dna - oesgo,gru orkeb cboslk eahv ouy in ruyo dagr eth oen leeva a uyo deracsh city ew when inudgr ofmr oeshp adh tughtoh ouy nsyun aeanpttrm. Ryeve hmi lsilt obtau 'im oyu oastlm tub o,rsyr do ayd inkht. Mih gania hn'teav oyu eonksp to isltl. Riaerdm thwi own ybab a 'hse. What ti ouy thta a iwht liek dlowu lot yuo neeb ni aveh ubtao eufrtu rowend. Salt tath to rpevo eht you ouy tnrigy seyra ihm howtyr snpde 01 ot wree. You alsawy wree. Nda rudop tub be he bmacee anc ryltu ot oyu you htat uboat grnwo on of ree,w mhi how guohtth uojyner ouy vrepo oeoemsn velo. Would be yuo orudp os os. Era odrup so you. .
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A tol rmoe uoy ewtri. Nwtr'ee uyo itasb,uiom( dan enovl ehav and aysal?w) tub a poerty kroc we srtetad terwi repao a. Pehs,lbudi a itsll s'it ton goal btu tye. Etowr iphblus riebf oyu as uoy tounc acerer noec, nudsdeo hatt os eenvr ghiatremn emda ddi htta trwie a nccayltehl)i uoy of yth(e a l'elw like smisonsubi a r,uloagm but for fro did ,ulmrago. In u'reyo edes,ixt a oyu on rmnitakeg naigmdei wgrniko ismseav ahpt olsiac a ofr nyapcmo ni maied vnere tech tlcnnigsuo. It uyo lveo. Rea nad krroewcos rsamt iyieldbncr oyru europvipts. Eht ouy ot eecuasb hwit royu lcla rfom otiaefvr the by rkwo - tnpameart onw ouy ia,pncedm fo dounolm eids your paecl uscaytran - oruy teg. .
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Nldoumo litsl si anuodr. Nda uemsmr eb btae he 21 isth rnacec iwll. An n'atc on esttre odl eht ieleveb nam es'h lepope. Gdo the in nad pupyp eh estpaiph ebign eeyrgn tslil het tutiareonp a fro sha ooigerhnodbh. Chmar tsal in passde erya hayelr. Draye hse asw and she saw 81. Lyimaf litouedv cumh lla eth etorh os ni tcsa teh elov avge ehs dan. And neco uoy ,eatatnpmr nyc ramoestmo ovem meka niot ot maesdyo ujts blksoc bkca iwth hedsar ti ivled ot het eno reh ipemdors you ouy see morf rzayc ghnuoe erh ogln uoyr d'oyu hse nwo adn. Si't azycr. Mte eht one elyarh reh p,adses dna ehbsornig dgo i of eaftr. . . Dmena herlya. Uoy rseomip flllufi taht asw ehs. .
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On dslo biek teh )!taknsh ew (a eht cyoetocmrl ?ty?ic in. Aipns no listl odcno teh ere'w kiornwg ni. Ot scruh the if oyu ibvleee b,iyrelf nca d,ramrie ahtt hatt ahd oyu ni ew on uhge hgih lhosco tog guy. Enrdtu out a tou ryea eb in eh ttha lohiclcoa oyu euiavbs ufesolyr tnah updell ssle ot na of dan. Iiosplnhrates ignipck oy'eur etalhyh oodg nistud ta tno vrey csien. E'oury nmda ahtn tbu wo,n eariphp eenb endgage ehert it!mse eov'yu ayw ahtt eerv lnesgi. An yveou' knonw aer feirdns enedclirib ni vnere ayw orpgu haev of mofr who poiprsvetu all oerv a yuo. .
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Nda uoy adn v'eyuo eemisnm ni ayer rohwtg ldaotise nilhg,ea ,enitaranqu yceplselai ni domonlu alst hwlie edpe hda tjus hte. Ct,wtih no oingd dan make ypal a remo myoen slitl amgse fsrinde nda ltilet mizgaan gmsea - ltyefdeini uoy raesmt saoruiv eavh ti enw veiod yuo tem even uhhtorg mhte. Raf hatw oyu oneyj of do rtssse sles orme nda ouy. .
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Aehv ;50 a hnta bekuct lastmo a tsli mroe 05 glon emsti we dna wgigron 010 ahve oefber we. Eittll a 73 igiextcn trguinn sad and swa. Aer os nac fo lstli dsn'eot seelf vero ahteverw in igb f,tel elmnestosi a wlli the su teh for odngi kiel a eet'rhs cmuh ielk esrt oyu ti you tub ndeps and be lkie lla fymial os efil eht it lettil racds it kolo. Snhifi hatt kobo. To nsaip go. Tnnnoceits eht siivt lal. Nac all epke uatcnethi nad ntwa you ufll yoru ti ilfe loagn maide youe'v ouy iengb oagocpilltayle a idnog bauscee udlib o!yu lnivgi no aubto vtahewer eenb ctuimymno oascil do. .
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Us otnw os lmlas esh acbk whsi leiwh ededmar tbuao eayr adn 71 ew teh dptarep og ywa olcdu fetl dlo esh de'sh hvea llet trrsoe thta i elif in. .
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Oelv i you. I uyo getfular am rof os. Up uoy nveer agev. Gnupish you epkt. It oytsr rae cssesuc eihnsuo osme sehlfre adn drvvusei ouy itsh ,ihrlrebo uyo a yoln to woes who. Cikk it so reeh nyoej no uto, ngogi rmfo wvtereha we ot to dna r'ewe ggoni ree'w sas do cmuh. Wa,lysa the ectunenor nda we n,ikd ew fo on sa oshte adn wya naitetp be lwil giorvfgni. .
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L,veo.
Og we( ila ial by o)nw.

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