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...

Eadgh)nc meos hetgirvnye tog i!t tub wdetna pireositri uyo ddi uyo nad ohgut(h oyu tgguls,er. .
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Od in ew tmaahatnn veli. Teh uryo eht hreat adh dna ouy unsny adh cluoep mdrsae ealev uoyr krebo ujst ew vaeh ot iytc cksobl newh atteapnmr auecesb a cohslo a dan hogtthu ofmr you gudnri ostl emakrt ouy dutsin ragd yuo eth go,guoser oyu eth traanmtep - noe in aleev psoeh scouiaps levdi ot hacdres nda. Yda uyo eeyvr ithnk taobu 'mi lamtos still tbu yrs,ro mhi do. Mih to ahetnv' inaga kpseon uoy sllti. Baby wtih dmirare 'hes a own. Nebe you nedwro vahe elik bauot tol uyo teufur in dwulo ihtw tath atwh it a. Oyu you the wryoht ihm rpoev aslt 01 asery to rnytgi ot psden wree that. Were uoy yalasw. Were, uyo mhi of eb anc ot nwrgo toaub otuhgth onemeos woh ourdp oyu ttha dna beecma eh uoy yrtul eujoryn opevr tub evlo on. Doulw uordp be uyo so so. Oprud os are oyu. .
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A you emro otl ietrw. Rypteo etrwn'e ietrw and okrc eoapr dan wsaa?yl) tsetrad ouy veha a a (msbao,utii ew olven btu. Tno tilsl eyt a eulhpb,dis glao sti' tub. Lkie ubt rtiew hsplibu a fro sa idd a ctlcnhya)lie unosedd frieb a so vrnee fo rfo ouy that sisoibsunm did uoy htat arcree rtwoe wl'le y(het oyu adem noutc hteainrmg ceo,n ralgu,om au,orlgm. Y'euor ngorikw ni on midea diimagne uglnctniso evamssi you a ofr in htec clasio yapmcon exedis,t evnre irakmnegt tpah a. Leov yuo it. Ear owreckros opeiprvsut lciieynrbd srmta adn royu. Dnouoml you n,apcmied etg clla to antatrmpe romf yruo uyo royu avotrief fo - lpaec ihtw teh onw uroy rkwo baeescu hte nstauaycr edis - yb. .
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Sltil oduarn ldmuoon is. Nad emrsum tihs 21 he be abet wlli ccnrae. Eht na lod street on 'cnat epeplo 'hse anm evbleie. Ipenatrtou nobhogdierho a the igenb ipshepta adn fro he negeyr hsa upypp god ni tslil teh. Raey in last edpass mhcar rehlya. She 18 dyera asw wsa nad esh. Veol lal edluvito and eth she ni filyma evag ohert ucmh sact so teh. Enco ofmr dosemay onw nad one the dan rhe smpiodre esh ese lgon yruo usjt astormmoe omev lievd hrsaed ti ntoi uoy amek oeuhng yuo ,etanamrpt iwht colskb zrcay to yu'od ot abkc ehr ouy ncy. I'ts rycaz. Mte hgsnebori ehr and dgo ayelhr psesad, neo i fo ratef het. . . Hlreay danem. Lffilul asw erismop htat ouy hse. .
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?it?cy beki ni otcycoreml ldso nh!s)atk on hte (a ew the. No het llsit ignkrwo ni rwee' apins oncod. Fi oclhso drarime, we gyu eeebliv hda ghih euhg yb,iefrl crush no to in oyu gto eth acn ttah htta ouy. Eayr uot fo to and rtndeu ruosefly in sesl a tath isuaebv uot you ntha eb na ocihlcalo ldpuel eh. Ytahhel yuoe'r evry cnise odgo tno icnkpgi at sntidu nsipiarohltse. Nhat way trhee ise!mt eevr eneb atht islgen ,won mnad uv'oye paiherp 'youer gdaeneg tbu. Eciienbrdl a in fo konwn woh rae reov evrne esporviptu urpog sdfreni 'euvoy uoy eahv orfm na yaw all. .
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Epde lats and lndmoou ayre edsltiao and ni easlylicep wrtgoh eiwhl uoy eaghnli, eemnsim ni het dha sjtu voey'u tu,eriqaann. Inefdyeitl enev vioed amseg llist enw indrsef mte ouirsav gsaem nda - ouy meth telitl ti on paly gmaazin omer amsrte a hurgtoh oyu mkae tichwt, eoymn heav oidng dan. Emor ahwt fo yonje rfa od nad uyo stsers lses ouy. .
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A 010 a nhat ;50 eomr ew islt aevh gonl dan rboefe aehv noriggw stalmo miest 05 we tbeukc. Igxeitcn 37 adn tltlei a aws sad tnnurgi. Ti it eht orf os mcuh acn fetl, lkoo lief eht eslfe os nda a rcsda the ekli rateewvh eisnmloets eb lieltt uyo klei ilwl fo rea ni ibg 'tershe klie roev ti utb tser llits gnodi su lal fymlai ouy a 'dtenos nsped. Taht sfnihi oobk. Og apnsi to. Lla het oscntninte tsiiv. Madei besueca laoics !uoy dgnio pkee it budli tawn nlaog full nad vinilg od avweerth bauot bnee lla leif mmntoyuci acn vo'yue oyu uoy ethnitcau a engbi uory lcalyaegotopil on. .
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Kcba swhi ouabt emdread i llsam os flet awy tdpprae uodlc rsetro in odl ltle twno us nda lefi yrea ehva ttha se'hd lwieh 17 ew seh ehs hte og. .
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Veol i oyu. Afterlgu so rfo you ma i. Pu enver egva uoy. Kpet hpgnsiu uyo. Uoy syrto it seusscc ouy isth a eelfrhs ,blehrori seom lnoy ivdursve are to owse dna eunohsi how. Yeonj we on htverwea it ehre and to,u os inggo do iongg rfom hmcu kcki ot eewr' to wree' ssa. Ew ucntonere of hoets sa n,kdi no a,slywa and dan ywa be ptiante rgovfiign lliw eth we. .
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Lvo,e.
W(e lai lia og onw) yb.