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...

H(ohugt ehryngievt proriisite oems btu ggleust,r yuo dna hdea)ngc ouy ti! did dnawte got uoy. .
.
Aatatmhnn vlei od ni we. In lsot esdamr hte ssopuiac locsoh psheo eht eno to mofr puoecl ryuo yuo ettnmpara ot radchse snnyu hwne lbosck ebescau a egurs,goo - dagr nudtsi dna threa ouy idlve thuoght brkoe we oyu aeelv yrou mtkare eth rudgin a aveh atnmeartp adn had ouy dah teh juts yuo ciyt veeal nda. Uyo imh tub ady sitll o,syrr ervye do m'i oabut inhkt moaslt. Ot uyo hevtn'a iltsl imh pskeno gaani. A iwht nwo rerimda abyb she'. Been waht vhae elki that ni yuo ruetfu a btaou odlwu ihwt you dworne tol it. Teh to yuo rwee him alst thta yrwoth 01 ngrtiy ryase to enspd you eropv. Yslawa weer you. On uoy uyo be fo beemca uernyoj htgohut eoeosnm we,re ttah ubt hmi and vpore utlyr how yuo nwrgo uopdr batuo nca he ot lveo. Eb so you os uwdlo uordp. Os uopdr aer uyo. .
.
Eorm lto a tiwer uyo. Dan ew a earpo settdra sai,iobumt( dna wenert' rcok ubt levno a tperoy wsaayl?) twrei uyo ahve. Is't hlsdpieub, tye otn aglo lltsi a utb. Berfi uoy ttah uyo atth l'elw enhgamirt did tbu did arerec a lkei yhet( fo for oyu imsoissnub a loru,mga duonsed dema eco,n siluphb so l,umrago as notcu wreot envre eitwr a orf chlilecyan)t. Gamneiid daime yocampn snucilnotg svasmei a eex,dits on rof cisloa nmeiktagr echt in eyor'u a erven hatp uoy in kngoriw. Yuo it oevl. Yiiblncedr amstr yruo aer wserrocko rieusvtpop dna. Ised ubesace eht gte yrsatunca wno whti uoyr fmro orwk eht muonodl oury to ernptmtaa pacle - yuo - fo uroy itfraeov lcla oyu dc,apinem by. .
.
Moondul oundar is tllsi. Ecrnac 21 dna iwll eh be emrsmu htsi ateb. At'nc no ieevbel odl e'sh polpee na nma stetre eth. Ltils eh enibg a ppupy aptphsie hhiorgndeoob ontrauetpi het eth orf ni enryge nda has dog. In reya seadsp lsta eyalhr ahrcm. Hes and saw hse eydra saw 81. Oevl lymifa chum ni htreo ueivtdlo eth ehs nda eht gvae lal ctas os. Eht kema hserda reh once okbcsl orfm opmdires ese esh ilved to you ehr tjsu and nad duy'o ogln cabk nwo oyur ithw hugone neo evom yodsmea ot uyo oeramomst czayr ttpnem,raa it cny uoy toin. Rczya 'ist. Ogd eth rlyhea her etfra dsepsa, dna i hsegbnori tme eno of. . . Mdnae hylaer. Htat was lulilff yuo ormpise ehs. .
.
Ekib in a( we a!kt)nhs ticy?? teh no the ycotecmrol sodl. Rwngoik ni on lilst ew're naisp het dcnoo. Lchoso sruch no hatt a,imrrde we uoy hueg cna if tgo ivebeel guy tath ni eht to ighh irfely,b ahd you. Ahtt eb ryea ioccalolh pdelul a nda out an ibvesau thna uto he feurylso ot uoy ni fo ssle dtenur. At not cnies yrueo' ryve igikcnp hetylah phtainleoisrs godo niusdt. Hnta oreuy' tm!ies teher atth eiaprhp vu'eyo neeb mdan way ,now but evre lgeisn eegndag. A uoy nfiesdr na all enrve nnokw brcndiilee in gpuro ervo veha era fo form yaw 'vuyeo eorputipvs woh. .
.
Smmneie oey'vu ewilh iclsypeeal yrae eisdloat rtwhog ouy ahd dpee eht in sjtu in glhenia, lodmoun dna and tsal qnariutnea,. Enve godin ettlil mte wne emka asgem reom iangamz gsmae a nad measrt it tslli eavh lfeiyetdin lypa vidoe uyo othrghu irenfsd meth ouy mneyo asouvir no adn ihtctw, -. Uyo ejony of od fra erom ahwt rtssse slse dan ouy. .
.
Lngo we a vhea a obrfee ahev rome iwognrg nad hnat imtse 001 ltamos ltis tecbku 05; we 05. Rtguinn asw a 73 dan ads ixetincg tltlei. It rvoe efsel illw oedtsn' and it tteill lyamfi fo rcdsa acn f,tle aer btu lltsi su rof klei okol os etrs in humc eb tahvwere dgnoi elik all uoy hte it bgi the uyo a ifle leik so 'tseehr teh omlesetins a psdne. Tath ihnfis ookb. Iapsn ot go. Noncestnti eth visit all. O!yu ceubsae ivlgin mmynotuic on ouy ibdlu all uv'oey dan been engib uyo coasli it alpailocyoetgl tnucahiet acn damei wtvaehre a keep ielf yoru full aotbu do golna want idnog. .
.
Thta og yaw cdolu eyra she lslma teprdap uobta iwhs het 17 ilfe ldo vhea nad wnto cbak etfl heds' lihwe hes eltl us i oresrt os ew in demader. .
.
I eovl uoy. So taruegfl am orf i uyo. Geav vreen yuo up. Nghisup you tkpe. Nylo styor uhesnio lebrioh,r nad ihst who ceuscss oyu uoy it owes osem are to vevursid sreehlf a. Mfor gngoi we ot tu,o ssa hree hcmu do no ree'w 'were ewhveart dna gogni ojnye kikc to it os. Of no we dan lwli y,aaswl eth vifgrgoni way ew nittaep netnoucre and as thseo be d,nik. .
.
Ov,el.
Lai lia o)nw by og we(.

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