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...

But you ,gglsteru dna uyo eipsrirtio meos dnh)eacg dwntea hhtguo( yteegivhrn it! tgo idd yuo. .
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Od ni evli ntahatmna we. Kbeor uotghth nidsut hda you adh you lhocos sharecd eeavl ot a saermd one yuo hrtae ot ni mkaetr nda iedlv ew lscbko idgrnu nad stlo ehav soiscapu prmnateat a yoru yuo nmrtteaap opshe ecpulo ycit eeval the drga nda nwhe omrf uyo uroy - eguroos,g hte abueces nuysn teh jtus teh. Tbu ayd tubao oyu mih llsit od veyre mi' ,rsyro hknti tsaoml. Sopekn uyo a'tevhn to still mhi angai. A 'esh ybba arrdmie nwo wthi. Eebn uyo ndwreo lto ahwt it uoy evha like a etufru in dolwu ahtt bauot hiwt. Ot uyo to asery 01 dnesp atht tlsa tohryw nrgyit hmi het ouy rpeov rwee. You lasywa were. Vloe eh enemoso uyo rovpe fo ouy how no to him hguotht but eb atth bauto you yturl nac owrng eoujyrn ,rwee nad aebmce udpro. Ldouw be so os dporu yuo. Rdpuo are os ouy. .
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Yuo omre eritw tlo a. Riewt we rock a(mt,iubsio nad tub loven 'tnwere a yporet w?yaasl) adn dsttaer hvea uyo a oprae. Otn eyt 'tis ubt isltl udls,hbpei agol a. Lcta)nclyhie otwre oe,cn 'ellw oyu a atth reven edma wriet lua,ogrm for a os rof eeacrr ,rgalmou ubt yte(h did nduseod tunoc fo soubissmin lkei sa a atth ragetnihm bpuilsh yuo oyu ifrbe idd. Ouy maonypc vsmseai ieamd ofr aniedgmi a evrne csiloa ikenratmg kwgorni olnignctus on cthe eu'ory in in a ,teidexs hpta. Ti ouy olve. Psiorevupt rtsma adn uyor lbneycdrii ear worsckeor. Yb you orkw anpi,dmec ivaefrto thiw oury mfor etg of eht oyru mrapatnte - ouy royu - ecalp llca ebasecu omnldou now the desi ot stnucyaar. .
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Unrado litsl si oulmond. Be dna merusm he ecacnr 21 thsi teab llwi. Dlo na eoplpe amn nc'at tesrte no eth 'hse bvlieee. Lstli a seipapth rof reegny ppypu he eth dna teh birdeoohgnho neibg ouetniatrp dog in has. Ryea in ltsa crmha rhylea sdpaes. Saw hse 81 she saw nad dyrea. Lla mchu eth os and tsca in faylim leov etlvodiu esh teh egva ohret. Ceon make to cblkos iton olgn roomtasem ody'u erh guonhe nad ncy ouy domseya adhesr vmoe dvlie thiw oyu ti utjs see yoru ackb eon ot hre onw ouy deprsoim fmro seh teh arcyz atane,rmtp dna. T'is zrayc. Odg feart of nad i sdpe,as emt reh eon hrayle the iheogsbnr. . . Anmed yrhael. Luflilf uoy rsepoim seh aws tath. .
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Ew on hkasn!t) a( ni het ?iytc? tcmyreloco eht odsl bike. No teh anspi nkwrgio dcono still in 'rewe. Sholco ghih ahtt in htta ,fbyleri gyu shrcu liebvee eht gto daier,rm no oyu anc uoy dha hgue to we fi. A colhiocla ni ayer uot dpllue eb esls beiavsu slfyerou tahn dna to ntuedr na uyo he atth uto fo. Revy arliitsspnhoe ta sceni eu'yro duistn odog hhaylet ipkigcn not. Eehtr piaerhp ggenade now, nebe ever anmd htan yevou' htat but !tmsei way leisgn 'ryoeu. Y'ueov guopr ervne in rmfo a aveh ear orve of an nonwk you eidfsrn how vtoispeupr dicbirenel lla wya. .
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Nnita,euaqr nilgh,ae dpee htwogr dan hda ieclepsyal alts you meemisn raye nad juts donlmou ni ni odieastl hweil vueoy' eht. Tlils nda ti mgesa wne tme yuo nigamza eamk nda thme rifsend mteasr neve ahev gasem a - on ouy uhhtogr usorvia eiovd ypla letilt moeyn t,ichtw filyntedei rmoe dnoig. Uoy of ejoyn rome rsstes wtha nda raf uyo od lsse. .
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Igownrg ew ogln utkbec ew avhe meor hant 0;5 ltaosm a hvae 50 ofeebr tsime adn 100 sitl a. Sad 37 a gritnun nixgtice asw ttleil nad. Eb thevaewr idnog flei hte uoy gbi lal acn vero eht lefse eikl lkei in look lletti a npsed aer ubt td'enos adrsc rfo a hte hcum steehr' os mfylai f,lte nosmieetsl us it of it lslit klie uyo ti adn lliw so stre. Okob htta ihsnfi. Og nasip ot. Ontcnitesn the tivsi lal. Soacil no aemdi uyo elif neeb y'uvoe anc od llfu mmouintcy auotb a peke aiygcelotpllao budli gnloa ertawhve cthieanut yuro gviiln it ouy aebecus gndoi tnwa bieng nad y!uo lla. .
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Hiwel tseorr asmll in ew dlo i taht ilef hse iwsh nad edemdar dshe' teh us og esh uabto os ldcuo ryae tlle yaw 17 dtpreap flte wnto kabc veha. .
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Voel uoy i. So i ofr ugrefalt ma uyo. Evner vega ouy up. Ktpe oyu nisguhp. Elehfsr ccsssue ysrto eosw nad to ouy rea it erhb,lori onyl iehsoun owh udvesvir uoy smoe htis a. To uo,t ogngi do so giogn jnoey sas nad 'eewr ew on erew' twhvraee ot omfr rhee kcik ti much. Dan the aawsyl, of ggnfvorii illw nda d,nki ywa no cnroneteu we as nepatit tsohe ew eb. .
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O,vel.
Ila yb og ial no)w (ew.

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