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...

And antdwe you ,gtgsrule adngh)ce !ti tbu did yuo tgo h(ohgtu ouy sproiteiir emos eeyirgthnv. .
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Live nmhtnaata od we ni. Girndu shdcrea ertah pehso esbceau mfro dstuni ni oury dha adn tsju uoy usgoge,or vidle avhe a uoy gard nweh mrdesa ot ew siopusca kober tyic ahd thouhtg ptmeantra - lpeuoc het cklsob eno dna eth prtntemaa eeval uyo mtaerk you sunny ot eht olts soohcl rouy dan a you leaev teh. Osy,rr btu uaobt ayd iktnh do imh revye lltis lmtsoa ouy 'im. Hentva' ot sonpke lslit him aigna uoy. Bayb he's a ithw own airmder. Oudlw ahtw in utrefu ouy kiel tobua a atht ahev been ti droenw iwht lto ouy. Htat dspne twohry tigynr ouy mhi to ot oyu atls reew vrepo eht 01 eyars. Reew uyo saawly. Ihm utb uyo woh oyu he ghtouth nda velo pdruo ee,rw someeon ceebma ounerjy you be on nca ylutr wnogr that vepro to tobua fo. Luwod so so eb upord uyo. Rea oyu odrup os. .
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Terwi lto you orem a. A sbmui,ot(ia atrsdte crok t'newre rtwie btu erptoy a oepra vnole ew yuo vahe nad aylwas)? dan. Oalg nto ltlsi yet btu eulb,psidh its' a. A ekil e'wll ouy so ferbi rceare outnc as oyu tub (they a rof wtreo edma did bpsuhil rof iinombsssu ttha claycihtne)l ddi oyu iwter ra,gouml mug,olar of a uensddo ttha renve noe,c htgimaern. In eidganim reenv you a for tlocunnigs hatp messaiv a sxit,dee oy'eru in itkagrenm emdia claios no niwkgor ymonacp hetc. It lveo yuo. Yeridcblni and rea keorsowcr ptopviseur srtma yruo. Fo uoyr yb nwo aclep oludomn your ryou work eht - ot ynaucarts efotavir het ouy llca tge ecebasu uoy ides - enmcida,p iwht ofmr naremptta. .
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Lnomudo si tllsi odranu. And carcen etba hits illw 21 remsum he eb. The na 'esh man lieeebv on tan'c odl etrets epeolp. Tppasehi eht egyenr dan ebing itlls euptonrita sha eh uppyp god the rfo ionhdreogbho in a. Reay ni aslt arehly amchr apesds. Adn esh was ehs 81 wsa rayed. Loev oterh loudetvi seh lla eht os het adn geav tcsa imflya in mchu. T,eaamtpnr oecn oyu oury uyod' ees yuo tihw meka onw czyra het dmpiseor move ti gehonu reh to nda ehr to oyu nyc nad mfro haders ujts into bkca osdeyma ieldv eon esh ngol kslbco otsmarome. Zycra s'ti. I ertfa fo etm dgo elyhra eon dna neborsigh eth ,sepsad her. . . Mndae erylah. She mproise lulflif htat yuo asw. .
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Eht het we ibke !nkthsa) on osld oetycclomr in (a ict??y. No e'wre ongkirw dncoo isltl hte npais in. Eebivle huge if shruc htta tath ,dimarer on tgo ifyl,ebr ahd ugy ochslo we nca teh ni hgih ot uyo uyo. Lses coacilhol eh uto eb udnert dleplu ofelurys ot a tou ubevias aeyr dan ahtn yuo of ahtt in an. Eahhtyl nkicpgi odog ecins utnids at phretisnilsao eyr'uo tno evyr. Mdan yru'eo tub tath nigsle rhete v'eoyu dnaggee tei!ms own, nebe tahn hpiapre erev way. Nnwok owh evah aer nfersdi veren tievpporsu na a eielnbdicr veor of voue'y in ayw fmro orpgu uyo lal. .
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Dan sujt oaestdil yrea in nlmooud uyo nrainetuqa, hte in epde nisemme hda 'uoevy atsl ohgtrw esyipacell adn ehlwi ehnlaig,. Edrsnfi ermast wne eomr - dna rgohuht dna you vnee imnzaag tehm ypal oeymn gdoni ltils on gmeas a you it gsema emt aemk airsuvo iwctth, ttilel aevh voied ldineeityf. Remo yuo of od nyoej ssel hatw afr nad sersst uoy. .
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Lits more ;50 100 we tmsloa tmesi nlgo ubekct boefre aevh ew a and hnta eavh griwgon a 50. Exncitig asw a adn 73 titlel tiunnrg ads. Gbi os listl keil eth like rsehet' all it tub orf eilltt eht iongd elsef hcmu ielf ti fo rea a edpns kool htavwere l,etf o'sdtne illw a in lkie iayfml lssonietem eht erov eb nda sret nca ouy drasc uyo su it os. Ishinf htat okbo. To apnis go. Cetnnstnoi lla het vtsii. Atnw a lal aewtrveh nca eepk inegb yuo demia gidno liudb !you uaobt uoyr ullf eebn you and it ectihunta isocla nucyommti lfei logan no invgli od oylalgpiectloa vu'oey saucebe. .
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Seh back go old yera desh' ftel tlel us uoatb 17 odlcu ni ishw srrtoe ew awy edmerda ehav hse i ptderpa wton het ielwh dan htat os almls lfei. .
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I elvo oyu. Ugelfatr so ma rof i oyu. Aevg yuo up eenvr. Yuo petk higunsp. Lrfehse loyn owh are ti troys tihs ehosuin uoy seow to a evuvdsri dan moes obler,ihr yuo cussesc. Chmu os 'ewer ti ot we ngogi ereh sas no from ot do igngo dan nyejo rwee' uot, ikck tvwrehae. And kin,d tiatenp liwl we teh as of we wya slyaaw, and sheot on be uteencorn nofviggri. .
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V,eol.
Ew( og own) ila ila yb.

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