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...

Ouy (othugh otg ouy nad ddi you )dencgha gtgeul,sr wdtane tbu ti! eyrvnigteh moes iteirrispo. .
.
Aaannmhtt do we ni ilev. Uyor teh uyo hda rptmnaate uspicaso yrou ot apmtnrtea pshoe eht aveh and uoy nda iunsdt rmfo nad evidl eeavl uyo dah slhoco leoucp uebscae oughtth - yict to geugros,o hewn a trmake ngdiru srdema a ew rehat the uoy uoy slot sheardc eon the rekbo ynuns sujt ni csolbk aelev rdag. Him maslot od lilts s,yorr ouy ayd khtni tub aubot eyvre mi'. Ihm lstil to ponkes niaag uyo nve'tah. Ermdrai sh'e wthi bbya won a. Dnrweo ithw awht lkie ni tuuref tbauo oyu a eavh olt tath ouy ti duowl eben. Yhtwro eewr snpde yesra yirngt uyo you ahtt evopr 10 het imh to atsl to. Lwsaay uoy ewre. Woh fo no uyltr can adn rnogw cemabe uyo utb ttah he be you orupd you thohgut evlo imh e,wer ot erpvo soeneom enryoju aotub. Os be oyu os odluw udpro. So rae oprud uyo. .
.
Lot reiwt roem you a. We nda iwetr o,i(buaitsm dattrse swaly?)a novel ahev but dna ouy ckor ptyero 'enertw erpoa a a. Tlsil a nto algo yet edusbh,ipl its' ubt. That idd yuo thta tewor renve so ihublps w'lel for fibre ,ogulram o,cen agritemhn )cteayinlhcl for dmea a of ossuiimnsb a btu oyu ,rluomag tcnuo uyo dsodeun ielk idd a carere rtwei (ehyt sa. Edaim on e'yruo asvsemi rfo cnyoapm migedani yuo stedexi, ni vrnee ni isolac wonrikg thpa nonticlusg akegmritn a hect a. Evlo ti uyo. Nda kcworrsoe satrm eropituvsp rouy lbdnciyeri aer. Pclae yb undooml isde - the ateprnatm atnsucray hte sebcuae of - foraitev ot mie,pancd ithw fmor yuo clla gte oyru uyro rkow oyur ouy own. .
.
Ordnau is sllti nldomou. Eb mmuser llwi dan 21 abte he acrcen sith. Esertt on dol he's oepepl evebile mna cna't het na. Nda a upypp eenryg orf ni eh obrheihodgno ntupotaeir sllti hte iephsatp ogd gbeni sah teh. Ryae rlahey ni mchar stal esdpas. And rdeay esh was asw hse 81. Hte mfiayl ni lal eliduvto teh atcs nda avge os ertho eolv ehs umch. Seh now once emka uoy cyn nad tep,marant lcbkso gnlo syaodem ruoy vemo dmpoeris ouy cyrza oemrmaots ot bkac ti reh oyu gnhuoe ujst ahdrse vidle ihwt ot ees dna ehr rfom eht toni d'yuo noe. Yrzca sit'. ,dpessa her oen of eth dgo and eratf reyahl i etm hrengsibo. . . Nadem aleyrh. Taht mspeior ehs luflfli ouy aws. .
.
Otolmrcyec beik ?cti?y hte a( t!ha)snk eth we ni osdl on. Erew' odnoc in eth npais on ltils rwkogin. Fi acn ebrylfi, hrcus in ot no guy dah thta ae,drrmi uyo htta we yuo ghih got eveblie ghue ooclhs hte. Uoy dnrute ieusvba a na otu of nda uepldl sles to uot be lyesfruo eyar ni ahtn taht ollochcia he. Ta oodg udsint hrsaisoltinpe vyer piikngc layheht otn eicns uy'roe. Ahnt eben euo'yv awy elgins btu nw,o vree ttah isem!t admn rehet eegnadg yreou' airphep. Are of omfr a an uoy nnokw ohw veern nefdisr ienbiderlc ervo lla way in veyuo' eahv uspvrtpoei gopru. .
.
Lonmdou nautnq,riae nda nemesmi wgrhto alnhie,g epde in lceilyeasp ahd yueov' aeidstol and ilhew eht jstu stal in you aery. Games ylap fitinydele it oenym ethm meor rouhthg zaganim and soriuva a vhea odvei c,htwti ouy - vene amek you tem ettlil llsit no ogdni gmeas new maters erndisf nda. Of tawh ouy jnyeo meor arf you do srtsse dna esls. .
.
010 we fboeer lngo btkceu imste adn anth 50 50; a vhea emor we a avhe oggnwri losamt itls. Elltti and a swa 37 xitcngei gntinur das. In lf,et het can look eb a kiel hcmu uyo but dna npdse rae so o'stdne all ilef ibg roev rets eht thres'e it klie ekli lmfyia ti su wlli for eawhretv notleessim fesel liltte os a uyo it sllti gindo of rsacd het. Ookb nifhsi ahtt. Og ot snpai. Itisv hte nctsneotin lal. Yoru etihcantu galon claios it a oymtmunci can yo!u od lfie gtoaicyloaplle and awnt lufl eenb no eahetwrv oyu eucesba ekep bldui igviln ibgen btoua uoy vouy'e all mdiea gdino. .
.
Ew su batuo adn rpdatpe eht ttha ntow life esh i eahv h'eds bakc eradedm ishw go so 17 sllma eorrts in olduc eayr tlel dol yaw esh elft ihlwe. .
.
You i ovel. Rof i lefturga ma so uoy. Neevr veag up uyo. Yuo gpnihsu ptek. Ewos rvesudvi ouy some ot esuscsc soryt hriboelr, eehrlfs ti soeuhni htis oyu ear woh lyon a nda. Ew thwereav u,ot re'ew it noejy ikkc to and reeh onggi on do gogin ot ass re'ew os hmuc rmfo. Eipttan rouentnec ,inkd adn awy steoh on of sa be vnogfigir dan ,yaawsl ew hte illw we. .
.
Ol,ev.
W(e ila w)on og yb ali.

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