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...

Utb usgegt,rl idd nadewt and ogh(uht heinvgyetr uyo yuo meso t!i triesirpoi uyo dn)hgeca ogt. .
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Do ni we haantantm vile. Ouy ahev dan - dah dan to tyci adgr cpoausis mdreas leeva yuo hopes indgur nad you lveae hte had uhhtogt mrof eno cesueba stol nnsuy yuro ulceop ievld chools ustj blskoc a tusndi rmetak arpattnme hte you adcsehr trmaptane eht ot in hnwe oyu rsooe,ggu we yuor a het roebk raeth. Siltl rry,so mi' mih do tbuao ikthn dya oyu eeyrv tbu otlsam. Uyo naevt'h opsnke imh itlls again to. Drmarei a 'ehs yabb wtih wno. Atwh odlwu touab oyu odewnr ebne twih ouy tlo ti ufeurt ni taht elki ahve a. Easyr dneps to ot ewer you mhi htta tlsa 01 oprev yuo iygtrn eht rtoyhw. Weer yuo awylsa. Yuo yuo no hwo oyu about vrpoe ere,w ngrow btu to ghutoth him njourye of cna be emcabe rodpu thta eh and ovle yulrt emenoso. Os upord be so oyu lduow. Uoy os era ropud. .
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Tierw uyo olt mreo a. Rweit a uim,bati(so opyetr avhe a nad tsrdtae tbu wy?aasl) we rokc wr'eetn dna lnoev aoper oyu. Lgao ety hdebuil,sp but ton sltil is't a. A rtwoe maur,olg a idd nreve doesnud ubt ouy yuo oe,nc ahtt maed cclialhn)eyt ietwr l'wle areerc ucnot oyu emhrginta did sihuplb e(thy fo as moua,glr rof ierbf atht a os bsnismoius for ikle. In touncnilsg a nkiatmegr orf hcte tahp ouy tx,eidse iieandmg on kionrwg in vessaim cnyapom casoli 'ueyor vrnee a mdaei. It uoy eovl. Aer etvsoipurp eircilnybd tsarm nad ekosorcrw yuor. Yruo lcape the of now whti morf ebsaceu ouy uryo oury you - - ieds ped,ciman yb tiavefor eht racsntauy ulndoom teg prmenatat to lalc work. .
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Ltisl is dnouar uooldmn. Htis be tabe llwi 12 srmume he adn acncer. Lpeope anm seh' het an ldo na'ct eiebevl srteet no. Teh ofr eynerg in sepatihp upppy dog lltis adn a hte bgnrhehoodoi orantetpui he begin ash. Crmah ryae in last psasde elayhr. Seh erayd 81 aws seh nad aws. Fmialy os ni orthe dna esh loev cmuh vgea scta itvluedo lla teh hte. Rhe you onw hwit dilve toin oecn akbc ot klobcs tjsu teapar,ntm ti emvo uory dou'y uyo ycarz rhe kaem neo arsdeh from dna eraoosmmt to ees eosymad uyo ognehu lnog respimod nda ync eth hse. Yrcaz sti'. I sdeaps, tem hte ogbhrneis god efrta ehr oen haleyr fo nad. . . Yealhr neamd. Ttha uoy lffllui rpsmieo she was. .
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Ldso teh on mceooylctr nat)shk! ciy?t? (a eht eikb ni ew. Ew're onocd het nkwirgo tslli in no snaip. Ew hhgi in no had ,eflbiry ima,erdr yuo anc hueg ugy uoy het to soolch ebeeliv tgo ttha curhs atth if. Hatn eh fo na dan terndu abvsuie ufosrlye that uto eb uoy ot ssle eplldu in a ayre hocoallci uot. Rnapoethsliis theyhla nceis eu'roy cnigikp godo stnuid rvey otn ta. Uv'eyo ,nwo hrete peahpir eben eedgang ahnt ayw i!mset yrou'e but nmad erev taht nigsel. Ni evro woknn ear who haev vu'oey of rfom awy uoy orpgu evner all na ouvpstriep cnbiiedelr inrfesd a. .
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Aery ypcilalees in nad emesnmi ehagl,in 'ueyvo osaeidtl utsj liehw whrtog ouy eped stla uodnoml teh ,nequiaatnr ahd in dan. Dna ermo lapy fsdnier ,tthcwi idteiyfnel gmsae kmae gzaanim eiltlt and ouy ouy nvee - no amrest tlils ewn a amges grouthh nigod aevh hetm oymen tme it avosuir idveo. Od ahwt far uoy uoy eojny sels mero and essrts fo. .
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Adn smolat ltis 5;0 05 a 001 we nolg brfeeo ehva ew ismte hatn a gwriong have uctkbe eomr. Adn asw nriutgn iltetl txcinieg a ads 37. Lkoo hte it a eovr ertavhwe edpsn can su be elesf rfo oyu mfilay ni so nda a leik bgi dacsr ntsdeo' teh fo ettill ti yuo ear tslli feil ti msnilsotee cmuh t'hsere lal setr the ilwl ,eflt btu so elik ikle idogn. Fnhiis kboo that. Go ot ipasn. Itivs lla inostnenct eht. Avhewrte oy!u full ti ceuasbe goatocelaylipl lefi lacois ignvli eoyvu' eigbn ngoid yumnmicto uoy no nda a twna ruoy oyu atoub lla daemi do enbe peek can eaihnuttc aogln udlbi. .
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Ahtt ehs orsetr lheiw ubtao yera awy i ew elft lod hse'd kcba og us hwis she eavh 17 oudcl adeerdm in lmasl teh lfie nad etll so ntow tpedarp. .
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Olev oyu i. Am os leufatgr uyo i ofr. Up veag renve ouy. Tekp hpsingu yuo. Ri,oehblr nda woh ostyr sdurievv ti owse esrhfle escsusc some rae ynlo a ot uyo iuhoens shti yuo. Os orfm wevaerth ot eehr to eer'w no chum niogg it we ass oenjy kikc gngoi 'ewer od dan o,ut. As the ofivirggn wylaas, ttaipne no eb adn yaw nad we of eshot kid,n nunreoect lwil ew. .
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Ovle,.
By won) og ila ali (we.

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