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...

Nad t!i got uoy netawd egvneitryh hh(otug uoy ue,slrgtg smoe you iiopitrser egncdah) but idd. .
.
Do ni we ievl mntaatahn. Tearh aamntrpte nsyun tidsun inrugd rofm you acopssiu adsmre ruoy you lveae - uesbcea yuo a teh uthtohg het yuo o,soreggu tmekra in uyro stuj olpuec ivled had the dna hoslco the ekbro iytc rnpetaatm noe olst lobksc oyu crhasde dan when we and eavh eshop a hda to ot elvea radg. Batou itkhn ihm ouy do yerev itsll asotml ady tub sr,ory 'im. Imh avnh'et illts uyo angia ot espnok. Irdrema 'hse ybba tiwh a own. Yuo tath it onwerd ni ahev ubota been athw tlo lkei a lwodu uturef yuo hiwt. 01 arsey that sdnep epvor ot hte uyo erew slta him to tywhor uoy tngryi. Eerw ouy syalwa. On be rwgon ot htat pdoru utb of hguohtt aubto pevro imh yuo uoy ujyerno ohw ewer, he anc adn ouy snooeem yulrt beamec leov. Be uodrp so oyu luwod so. Dropu era oyu so. .
.
Rtwie a uoy reom lot. A aorpe tirew a lnveo ehav kcro ttrsaed m,iioabs(tu we eopryt btu nad uoy nad l)yswa?a rt'wene. T'is ety ogal illts tbu not seiulh,dbp a. Ctlaciynhle) (ethy did deam ddi elik ewrti of ihlubsp ecaerr towre for a irfeb ntuco rauo,mgl as 'wlel ahtt so mgitahern ouy ibsiusonms that osduned ouy nvere m,uralgo uoy utb rfo e,noc a a. Rfo hcte silcoa mnpoayc iuslntogcn nowgirk dexe,sti a a in sivmsae htap menkirtag ni nieagidm erevn yro'ue you on imdae. Velo uyo ti. Aer orocrkwse adn dcnieriylb your iuoptsrepv mstra. Uoyr ecapl yaancsrtu refiavot hte rtenmatap eescaub uyo - egt uoy won - het mrof yrou of llca oyur ot onldmuo orkw by ,eindamcp hiwt edsi. .
.
Lilts is looudmn arudon. 21 ecnrca nad eb umrsem he iwll hsti aetb. H'es no lpoeep na beieevl nam sreett eht odl 'antc. He ni hte iebng nad ppuyp ahs illts iepunttoar gdo hbeiogdohnor ahieppts ofr nergey het a. Rmcah in arlyeh reay lsat spsdae. And yerad asw ehs 18 asw hes. Lla hse rhteo in hte sact fyimla dna os hcmu evga eht vleo otdeuliv. Klbcos yodu' uyo atp,enrtma amek ujts it hre ocne aomtesrmo neguoh ognl ayrzc omfr tihw oint cbka now mosadye neo ovme oruy to ouy ycn see mrisoepd nad idevl hse the ot nad her you eadhsr. 'sit zcyra. Eon erh i eht tme dsa,spe ogd fo erayhl rtefa grsebnohi nad. . . Nemad yelahr. Lufflil ermsopi yuo ehs wsa htat. .
.
Ew i?c?ty osld eth otylermcoc ibek eth no a( ni a)!hknst. Wree' hte ooncd rgwnoki on nipas ni sltil. Ugy to veeilbe ni uhrsc tgo uyo ew high eht ouy no rfbyi,el htta daier,rm ocoslh hatt cna fi uegh adh. Tath ccllhaooi ntreud upledl tuo he be in a uevaibs tnha fo you tou eray an dan uleyorfs ot sesl. Icnes rhpailessntio snitdu at yvre ur'yeo pgkicni ehhlyta ogdo ton. Prepiah tesi!m bene nhta eehtr tub silgne adnggee way erve thta n,ow yo'reu nmda u'eyov. Ilriedcbne frmo hwo rae ehav wnonk lal 'ueovy uoy in awy ogrup neisdrf fo a na over etisppuorv nreve. .
.
In ryae het odnlmou lysleipcae ia,lghne epde adh in odseitla vue'oy adn salt nad iaqr,atennu ihwel uoy tgworh ujts meismne. Nsfired lslit it oyu mneyo tohuhrg have tem apyl wen anmzgai mseag telitl nda on dngio a uoy kmae eidvo adn eenv mero - mesag dtilniyfee htem viuraso ih,twtc mrstea. Far essrst sesl uoy dan uoy of ermo yejon wath od. .
.
We a 05 oalmts and orem btkceu evha itesm a we vaeh ;05 010 foeber tnha long istl oggnirw. Ncixtgie dsa ntiugrn 37 aws a lliett nda. Lal mhcu a sllit gndio uoy it ibg eht tfle, in orev loko ielf tletli rtse'he keil estr uoy dcars us os a notseesmil ear ekil ti leik lsefe rof wrevahet eth lwil anc so of tsdneo' ensdp fyialm it be dna eth tub. Kboo nhiisf atth. Ot og iasnp. Eth cnentosnit vstii lal. Uibdl oiclas oumntyimc ebne od ulfl idmea ubsaeec a it ahtrevew dgnio v'uyeo nca uy!o ouy oganl all uoatb bngei ntaw yitgeoplalcola nad fiel pkee niilvg yuo teaucithn no yoru. .
.
Os ahtt odl hte ew dseh' dan alsml in dmeeard seh lcuod akbc 71 telf seh atubo evah ehwil notw iwhs efli awy i go etorsr tpearpd llet us yare. .
.
I olev uoy. Ma i orf oyu os farteugl. Oyu up vega evern. Sigpnuh ekpt uoy. Eccsuss ear adn emso how a oyu ti lesfhre to sruvdvei yosrt eihunos owse nylo you tsih orr,hbeil. Ot erew' hmcu ,otu do nda ew oggni form ti ass eetarhvw oneyj no kikc os rehe ot ngiog w'ere. Seoth no eht adn lliw vigofnrgi eb coreentnu sa wyls,aa we fo we wya aitpnet nda nkd,i. .
.
Lo,ev.
W(e o)wn og lai by lia.

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