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...

It! eheiyvrngt nad ndweta gto tub er,ultggs h(ugtoh ouy you oems ddi iririsotep dgceh)an ouy. .
.
We ni lvie od ntnhtamaa. Eth yuo yuo we teh oyu rkboe ehtra nda mrdesa dinrug ehva whne uyor terkma a tlso dcersah dan anemtartp usnyn adh oyru dah neo veela tsju bskolc a lievd ouy tgohhtu itdsnu to eavle ctyi eceuasb patearmnt - hte cohlso adn grus,oeog in pehso olpecu ouy the ragd to ofmr apcsouis. Eyevr ktihn rsr,oy but mi' ouy boaut tlisl ostlam mih od day. Mih tllis you aagin hanet'v ot noespk. Rimdrea se'h aybb a now ithw. You efturu nodrew owdlu a ahwt in ahtt lkei oyu neeb it tol vhea tiwh otbau. To ouy aslt oyu het hmi ayers 10 epvor itgynr atht wrotyh ensdp to wree. Uoy asawyl reew. How unjyeor ot can rwgon pvroe yuo rew,e no you eh thta ryult ihm of bmecae aubot uyo btu eosmone othgtuh oevl be dna ruodp. Eb owdul os oyu drpou so. Rpoud are yuo os. .
.
A tol yuo remo wtrei. A a peytor etdtars nad and we orkc oenvl tub evah oyu rewent' ly?sa)wa wriet aerpo (at,buomisi. Bsild,ehpu yte utb gaol 'its llist a ont. Rfo did uyo a but taht ekil rbefi ndsoeud rfo uoy atht r,uolmag ouy wll'e eitrw bhsulip ererca os uogm,ral (eyth amed neevr as imussbnsio iynte)ccahll of eorwt noce, idd a count a naremtghi. Oslcai mivseas damie ptah chet in rof ugicolnstn a exe,tids rgetkainm a in rkwngoi enerv no uyo eiigmadn uyoer' aoycpnm. Ouy oevl ti. Eyibrdnicl ruyo era nda ckerworos iuospervpt tsmar. - pertmanat won twih pc,imnead atcurnasy rwko hte to side oury mfor egt yb ouyr eth ovrefati of - ouy capel royu acll nmloodu cebeasu uoy. .
.
Olonudm rnuaod litls si. 21 dan etab liwl thsi eb he nrceac smrmue. No lod het ievelbe opeepl hse' esttre an nt'ac nam. Edihhongrboo eth orf eh god het enigb epahtspi sah ni lslit dna ngeeyr a artitneuop pupyp. Arcmh pdeass ni slat yrae hyaerl. 18 wsa swa adn hse dayre ehs. Aiyflm lal eth geav vodlteui orteh so in esh elov scat the dna humc. It esh twih ouy fmro ogln oehngu reh iemsprdo bclkos bcak eocn ees ehr omev won your asrehd neo stuj ouy mtoremaso to emka ntoi yu'od sdaeomy ycn adn eth nda uoy eidlv etapatmr,n to crazy. Carzy 'its. Yhealr i mte of raeft erh ehbogsirn ,spsdae dgo adn eht oen. . . Mdnae aryhle. Uyo ffilull asw she taht orisemp. .
.
Eht a( ew kbei ctcyroelmo !sathk)n ni osld eth on ci??yt. No in llsit het igkonrw oodnc anisp weer'. Oyu dra,mire ot no ahd anc ni lfriy,be tath hgih if teh ouy hsucr ttah olosch gyu euhg ogt eebevil ew. Out ofeuysrl ni be olhcloiac an lses dnrteu reya ttha of vasibue lldpue dna eh yuo ot a hant uot. Cseni veyr 'ueoyr dgoo althhye sdunti ont at rhilsisntopea kpignic. Ielsgn no,w nbee pahrpie st!iem atth vy'oue tub dnma tnah rvee ourey' rtehe gegenda yaw. Ofrm of rea ugrpo lal an nnokw 'uoyev ni yuo ilncdrbeie rneev who vreo rouvpptsei resnfid a heva awy. .
.
Slat ni iatnnu,eaqr iwleh vyoe'u uoy ujst inahl,eg in imeemns esdialto ndmuolo yrae the ahd owghtr dna adn dpee esilecpyal. A ndoig lfdyeintie vahe icwtt,h doiev eakm oemr etm snferid etmh asgem veen dna - siaruvo ttleli ewn yuo emoyn ti lapy oyu ganzaim rhhuogt dan esrtam on lslti gesma. Far and yenjo uoy hwat lsse ouy of remo setrss od. .
.
Goln ew 001 a ehav 50 ukbcte a we ltsi mtsie dna omsalt ebrfeo ignwgor 0;5 ahev rmoe hnat. Sad was tlilet iniecxgt 37 a dan ntinrug. Os klie gib in ti reteh's ear be kiel klie lkoo yuo a miayfl hcmu neemslstio 'odnest it os su ewertvha hte efli erov tslil idngo orf scrda it left, but ouy eth will of lla can efsel and illtet a dspne hte tser. Ahtt nihisf bkoo. Og naips ot. Hte vsiit eninotsnct lla. Lief uyo tmcuyoinm atverwhe naogl oyu tuinhceat uev'yo tawn a ucebeas od lal oyru gdion lflu nac ulibd ingbe algteayilpoclo imdae ti neeb oicasl atbuo lngvii dna ekpe on o!yu. .
.
Olduc raye eltl thta ew leif dna eht ftel su ckba tsrroe in ouatb esd'h so shwi aehv lihew ontw way og erdpapt old i 17 ehs aeddrme llasm ehs. .
.
I lvoe oyu. You am i os refutlga rfo. Uoy pu veag enerv. Igphnsu pket you. Siuevvdr ot ti uyo adn rtosy emso ecsucss rea i,eorlrhb swoe woh hefrsel a oyu lnyo heoiuns htsi. Eerh iogng to enjoy do hucm rfom oigng ssa nad kcik os ot 'wree ou,t 'erew on ew ti rvaethwe. Lilw ,swalay hseto be dan nda neetcnuor rgfiignov het on ,kndi ew we of as yaw aptiten. .
.
L,oev.
We( ail by o)nw ali go.

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