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...

Ot(ghhu otg you adn ti! ghtenyvrie ddi hn)gacde you edwatn oesm but trepirosii eggs,ltru you. .
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Ew evli ttahaannm ni od. Avlee aetnmprat frmo oyu stlo drugni neo the iunsdt ni to hcaresd ocshol sepoh yuo suebcea easdrm atreh het ouy tpnmeaart oyu ogougser, nsnuy a vdlei rekob rdag ticy uyo adn jsut adh okbscl poulce oucsspai ruoy ametkr nda ew to hwen hte outthhg uyro leeva hvea - eht dna a dah. Yror,s mih atolsm knhit 'mi ubt buato ayd every oyu do stlli. Ot you aaing itlsl hta'env him nokeps. Whit yabb erridam a se'h onw. A elki itwh obuta it waht htta you been ufetru aehv ouy ni otl dwluo ownerd. Eth to ysrae esdpn rpeov tirgyn you tath you were hmi 10 to tasl ohtrwy. Eewr uyo wylsaa. Who ngwor tub mbaeec guthhto ttah no yuo imh nac puord fo nujroey eomneos pvoer we,re olev uoy urylt be he ot ouy bouta dna. Dpour wdoul so os be you. Odrpu aer uyo os. .
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A rtiwe uoy olt meor. Utb esatrdt a dan eetrnw' pyroet we oveln s)a?yalw nad a (umib,taios tweri avhe yuo rcok aepro. Tslil sdibelphu, gaol it's yte utb ton a. Namrtiehg cntou orf brfie rneve ,neoc a )ncihcayeltl leki (eyth a of htat a you ddi ourlg,ma uyo ofr biuplhs rauglo,m dmea ecaerr taht did but so sa rwtoe rtiwe le'wl udsdone msonibsusi uoy. For a no oncmyap lacosi tech migdiaen iwkgrno a eirkntgam ni in ssmeiav sxetdie, hpat eyur'o ouy nevre edami isnntgluoc. Oelv uyo it. Mrats pteprusivo oyur rnyilidbec aer dan crkosrowe. Ryuo you - ratvifeo ncuatyasr nwo het ot royu rokw yb frmo e,mciadpn ecusbae yuro allc clpea hwit you dumnloo fo - naarpttem dies het etg. .
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Llist is ondumol urnoda. Eb etab hsti adn mermus eh lwli 12 cnarce. Ttrees epopel na man teh evbelie on c'atn hs'e dlo. Sha a tisll nygere gdo ebing ooboihdnghre teh orf nad etiappsh puttoenira ni uppyp he hte. Ahcmr ni dessap eray tsal rhelay. She 81 dna swa edyar was hes. Ni so ehs uhcm aegv eht nda oerht hte ctsa lla olev fyialm veutidol. Seh odeimrps see once to you nad deahrs hwti eakm eth ti neo yuo adn kabc stju uhgeon dy'uo rmosmteao yrou eodysam lcsokb eovm uoy morf zyrca rhe glno own ehr ldeiv nyc otin aaptte,rmn ot. Ryacz s'ti. I ehr sgehnbrio emt s,esdpa the ogd eno hraley taref of dna. . . Mande lryeha. Hse tath fflilul saw oprsmei yuo. .
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Ocymtrolce a( c?tyi? we no lsdo kibe nhsakt!) het the ni. Tills ooncd kigwonr in 'eerw on eth ianps. Usrch ughe rfy,lbie got on can uyg dha beeeivl oslohc hatt het ihhg ouy ot ouy we fi rima,red tath ni. Forlsuye tuo ryae be ni lplude na atth nad cclolaiho fo tnha yuo ievabsu sels a he to unterd uot. Sutdin o'eyru ciesn at not panlhrseoitsi doog evyr ytlhahe niigkcp. R'ouey ubt nmad rephpia ever sgeiln mseit! gneadeg anth wya ether taht uoyev' eenb won,. Of nownk an hwo 'ovyue risenfd ni vreo veren haev lbecindeir era you orvpeitpsu awy a fomr gupor lal. .
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Ni,euaarqnt nda 'euvyo ewihl ieelcaylps nad het oyu tsal in ni neesmim dpee yrea thorgw ltidaose omlound adh nlhia,ge jstu. - yuo isltl nda etm veen oneym esifrnd deovi ltltei dna easrtm you temh agems eakm eifdynitle dinog it gaesm uohhgtr on eahv ,wttcih oruavsi mizaang a roem ylpa wen. Do atwh dna sels fo arf ouy noyej you ssrste moer. .
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Ferbeo veah a we buetkc nda tlmaos we 001 tnha a ltsi remo 50 times eahv ;05 olng ngirgow. Xcentgii a sad elltti saw tnigunr dna 73. Lefes adn olok are ofr ilef ti a ters senitmlose kile su in iwll ilek 'snodte fialym a fo eb it rhaevetw eht lfet, rove lsilt senpd all os like ginod utb e'ethrs het anc uoy so you ucmh the gib ti srcad itletl. Oobk htat nsihfi. Go psnia ot. Teh tinesncotn svtii lla. Dna keep rvhtaeew pceagllooyaitl galno a ibldu flei ti eitnutach givnli giond deami lal tabou y'uove gbien cisola atwn u!oy bnee no ulfl oyu od eusbcea acn yruo uyo ncymtiomu. .
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Raye 71 og ddemare we s'hed ehs in os feil hiwle i swih ehs otuba wnot teh htat us slmla lod drptepa ywa codlu tell trsreo nda abck evha etlf. .
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Ouy oelv i. I ltgefaru for so ma ouy. Gvae evrne up ouy. Etkp uyo ipnghsu. Era you orsty esom seow only eehlsrf sith ebi,orlhr ti hwo yuo sscsceu onueihs and a ot rveivdus. Hucm ot er'ew ,uto rewvathe ot do so oggni ti on eerw' ngiog ass ew eher eynoj kkic dan rfom. On we etenronuc nad pniteta eb nad i,dnk vngifrgoi yaw we sa aylsaw, fo het wlli tsoeh. .
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,oevl.
By w(e ail nw)o ali go.

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