A letter from Sep 18, 2022

Peaceful right?

Dear FutureMe, hey! happy eighteenth birthday!! i’m actually writing this on the eighteenth instead of our actual 16th birthday, but it’s more or less two years anyway. how are things? the last couple of weeks have been really ******, and i think i’m finally slipping out of denial. i miss grandad. yesterday we were at mary and catherine’s for a bit, they’re both looking a lot older. maybe that’s just me. anyway, how was australia? only like 75 days to go for me!! i’m doing work experience at the gaelscoil right now, it’s cool. nicola referred to us both as the adults in the room and it made me giggle. are you still friends with bella, tara, tiernan, conor etc? i still hate bella’s friends but what can you do. are you in a relationship yet? how were the junior cert results? there’s still no clarification on when they’re coming out. i just hope i do well in science. do you still want to study neuroscience? i hope donall and grainne are good. hopefully mary and catherine are still around, i’m very much aware of mortality at the moment. if they aren’t, i’m so sorry. i don’t want to go to school tomorrow. we have to do boxing or something lol, would rather die. i hope life is treating you well. you (aged 16 and one day)

Epilogue

1 day later

16 year old ash, you would not believe how much has changed. those 75 days until you go to australia? not only did they go quick, but we ended up...

Oglniv ttha we ti ,eehr hcum vmode os elpteryamnn. Dnd,ee 'oyuve os udirng dah yuo adn uaeft,iblu aws houthg uyo rdefisn eenv hpapy evre uoy weer ti hte frits ,dha bets l,evo dan evha oyur it ti. Yle'thl nwe onw and luhfeylpo ,rtspseocp !too go aveh lelw uoy.
.
Rae cehatnrei dan tighr eerw aymr ouy ,roedl. Go ouy eth lngowofli ohem sporupt uoy dan rfo ucdtl'on febrditsen ahd died asyd etbs oury dan ubt in het ,mystse ryam eht htiw ym,a hsao lfrenau - snpet. Os esmyts a posrptu ohgtuh rsposce iaesre stlli to uchm crylurten ,ti eenv im' nvgaih ugringlgts vitryeeghn skema. Hcum aveh was ti iths stbe the - to ot ubt aols so raye oolk udk,cse yuo owrfrda. Raf, yrou saw fnienigd 71 the iwll too be os i ayer epoh somt 18 lefi dan of. - ist eth ew ta anrgien itreelbr tixnetg el!wl in emth ta were' ladlno hothgu dan neve raawhdre and wiogrnk yeth in ncoor aer in sreto itlls tslli dfnisre era bilndu imcsu liwl darni,el ennar,ti eyllar gnoig 'saonldl and tenadrunds igstynud - t,raa ls,lit snn'egrai eeglclo aelbl,. Bmmerree at ton weer, etmatr etcr niujro hatw hety od lla ont alyler my srlstue haah do i. Xbni,og erbmemre dan teh thig?r od i i'tddn slcoho fi cyctl,rore ew piksdep eht xten dya.
.
'uroye tbayrhdi mite but orhgu nits' yrou dnenviocc adn a at wokn ureyo' hvniga het r,cudes ti emotn,m si i. Eb sulyrfeo going eo'ruy dna nrlae difn yuro nggio onudar ,opelpe 'louyl eyeonerv 'eruyo p,yhpa eolv to and to uyo seylrouf nda to. Fo gonuy stlil ivrsnoe tub ihws dmub fo a romf uoy i iresw stiupd ,uoy eth shteapip dna yidtbasrh. Ormpsie tret,eb ti i uyo sget.
.
Uoy fo rpoud m'i. Diogn ttsha ru'eyo trtaesm taht lla tebs uyro dan. Old ibdratyh 61 sha raey hpyap.