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...

Etehviygrn yuo did ogt slet,uggr etwadn eoms gahcden) oyu yuo tbu htuhg(o t!i and triipireos. .
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Do live atnthmana in ew. Hsepo rgda terah pentaatmr elaev earmtk tunisd samdre euoo,rsgg paiscosu a we ot evael ryuo - tslo nad adh dha ryou rngiud wenh eht aehcsrd uyo uothhtg dna stju a nda orebk in eht uoy ohocsl snynu yitc eavh fomr uoy oeclpu ouy to kcbslo dveli buecsae taremtnap you eht the noe. Yuo lilts tbu day btaou do 'mi ihm eevry atmols ntkih sror,y. Lltis mih ouy iaagn vat'hne to peosnk. Onw a mdaeirr eh's byba htiw. Twhi nodrew ti kiel wloud ni yuo oyu a toabu hatt tlo hwta eben hvea utfrue. Rewe dneps 01 oyu last pevro him seyar owyhrt ouy eht thta ot ot nyirtg. Wlayas yuo rewe. He yuo fo oyu wgrno love btoua oyu jeruyno yurlt and to nac uhothtg mhi erw,e thta eb embcae no uorpd owh moenose eopvr tbu. So drupo doluw uyo eb so. Uyo prduo era so. .
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Ouy retiw otl orem a. Portey ouy suim,oi(abt rkoc as?a)wyl a witre eaorp btu leovn ehav a et'wenr ew dan artesdt adn. ,hldupisbe tub 'sti tno yet a galo ltlsi. Mu,lagro hsilpbu soibmuinss rewto fo acreer ahtt ouy elwl' hatt ddi as ikel so ddi uyo fro ihc)yllecant orf au,olrgm a aemd nuoct ewrit a uoy reven neduosd (yteh iemghrnat ,enoc a rebfi ubt. Acsiol ofr eoyru' a vrene temraigkn geimdina ceth veaimss kiwongr pnyamco meida tahp on in ocnsliugtn yuo s,xdeeti ni a. Oevl you ti. Adn ovperuispt tmasr era nbridlycie soorwrcke oury. Yruo okrw udoolmn uoy ithw own to teg usabcee - alpec het ides your oruy of otaivref eth atmapnert uyo omrf aep,nmcid stnyurcaa llac by -. .
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Ilstl doaunr onlmudo is. Atbe eb 21 ecanrc lliw ihst eh ruesmm nda. Veebiel elpepo tcan' on an setert eht amn he's dol. Eth dog he uattoripen for atphpsei gryeen ngeib yuppp a adn ooighhdrneob eht llsti ahs ni. Ni lehayr erya cmrha slat deasps. Seh aeryd adn was wsa 18 she. Reoth geav adn itudoevl ni so ehs veol hmcu eht csta all het fmlaiy. Rmesdopi esh ese het petnt,amar eovm asmtomreo hre hitw ustj eon skcobl omrf gonl edrhas nda onec yuo uyo erh own noti ugenho it ckba yu'do mayseod iledv ot oryu kema ot adn cny uyo rzayc. Czyar si't. Etfar ralhey hte ehr edsasp, tme nda iohnegrsb fo i eno odg. . . Amdne hlryae. Ahtt pmersio aws ulfillf she uyo. .
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No teh we ebki ??cyti ldos (a in the ytcoolmrec stnak)!h. Snapi kgiwnro ncood tslil on eerw' in the. Lfr,eybi suchr nca ahd ridr,mae uheg in otg on fi you gyu to atht that vleeebi we hgih yuo eth solcoh. Of he aclicoloh adn otu uot htat ot eb raey in na duentr sesl a uoy hnta vsuibea slouyrfe dulelp. Enisc gcknipi nutdis ou'yer ont hytehal reyv ta dogo tnsirhaloipes. Eevr ue'ryo andm oy'vue ariphep !emits awy erthe naht no,w ingesl eenb tub atth gdeagne. Are how uoyv'e rofm na rveo iecdbnreli ayw rupgo noknw fo veha yuo lla a outrevsppi in revne nefdsri. .
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In aqiuan,nrte uyo e,anghil eepd dah mniemse dlunomo last tusj csialypele eovy'u hlewi grtwoh in adn het nda ayre aoditles. A dna evdio aiagmzn ondig hmte ti dna - lsitl gmsea pyla new mte meyno kmae touhgrh have suorvai eltitl yuo easmrt meor erndfis ednlefiiyt veen no yuo ,whitct amges. Tersss uyo uyo od dan eorm atwh yojen raf of elss. .
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Have a ew a 010 aveh tsiem gnol woringg reebfo ew loamst reom adn 0;5 htna 05 etucbk islt. A illett cegixitn asd ntniugr 73 adn was. Cuhm a ikel a trse lfei dtn'eso 'stehre sacrd hvwraeet be lal t,lfe elefs ofr het ear eth dingo iekl dan fo eilk you otmslnisee in it big nca os it vroe nspde het ilslt su ouy so it wlli eilttl lyafim btu oolk. Ttah iihfsn oobk. Ot og naspi. Het lal ivits ticensnont. Imnoucytm hnteatiuc aoclsi it uyo y!uo gvilni tanw diogn do and hweeratv ekpe anc been ulfl uory lla eou'yv bgine life a on ptlaloaiylgoec toabu uoy dbuil cueebas eimda oganl. .
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Utabo us nad lod shde' 17 og coldu etappdr slmal heiwl tlel hes ayw ltef demdera i we have hatt kabc wotn hse yrae eortrs the os fiel in whsi. .
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I oyu levo. I os yuo rof am feulargt. Veag ouy ernev up. Tekp huignps uyo. Rae oynl ihbrlor,e ohw dan weos yuo ti a eonhuis dueirvvs rtyos to leserfh emso ussecsc ouy thsi. Giong it ckik giogn here eyojn er'we sas dan od to on ,tuo ot ervthwea cuhm omfr we rwee' os. Way of rviginfog we eb kin,d eosht teh a,aylsw tentaip no ew wlil tecronuen adn sa nad. .
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Eov,l.
Ali (ew )wno ail og by.

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