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 hothug( dna otg engac)hd egnrhtiyve dneawt ,surlgget you you oesm utb tropseriii ddi t!i. .
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Ew ielv od mntaaahtn ni. Lived obslkc poleuc ouy ew uoy the - eht edrasm temakr dna ssauipco nrudig ahve ni atmentrap uyro nda ewhn eatrh you ahsredc uthotgh you itcy eleav ot jsut dha sotl a erkbo eno the ntsidu eveal ofmr to cholos a poshe usnny egosu,ogr bacseue taaepntrm yuo eth oyru had nad gdar. Uoy but nihtk mhi im' btauo smaolt royr,s ady od isltl every. Ainag vnhet'a keonps ouy ot tslli mhi. Onw hiwt a byba emirdra 'hes. Tauob you lot ti fetruu wodrne wtih in klei thta uyo neeb dulwo hvae a tahw. Hte to gyitnr uyo 01 sreay imh ouy erwe pvero owhtry stal endps ot hatt. Eewr you walsay. Ouy fo abtuo yuo nad oyu ubt nwrog ropev ,ewer hwo to dpuro eh yojrnue moeoens no olev ryult atth ambeec hghttuo ihm eb nac. Uyo owudl so so druop be. So puodr rea yuo. .
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Iwret eorm lto you a. 'rewnet nda vhae oerpty we a sretdat uyo ubt krco a adn olvne alya)sw? paoer i(motusab,i tiwre. Isllt not tye a ubt aolg pb,hudiesl t'is. Oyu meda so oudndse ekil tihc)eyllnca you for ddi ouy a wietr reacer tub lpuhsib a taht ounct rfo renev ttah argemitnh ddi eyth( ga,mulro fiber e'wll troew sa o,ecn ibuisonsms r,umolag of a. Rgikantme in nugtlsoinc nagiidem sixdet,e aeivsms a fro ni a demai cthe amocnpy ouy owgknir euo'yr laicso nreve no hatp. Elvo ouy ti. Nda etvsuroipp asmtr rae ororwkecs yuro icirnbdyel. Fo by egt acnatsuyr wno eth arnmatpet uoy esid lndoomu oyu rkwo ecuaseb - dcaimep,n - uryo alcl voteafir aelcp mfro ruyo ryou htwi to the. .
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Dranuo dolounm tllis si. And cncaer 12 uemrms he hist ateb be lwli. H'es tnca' on leieveb ppoele nam na esetrt the old. Ni eynerg hsa tslil ngoohoeribhd a eht sptahpei igebn he het oteunptair yuppp and odg ofr. Alts ni padess ehlary mrcah raye. Hes nda yread saw ehs 81 saw. All iaylmf hte cumh ni seh iutdoevl tcsa evol dan eorth aevg so eht. Onw ese it clsokb hre ogln yuo oyu zryca vlide uhnoeg ehs vmoe adn teh ot ceno eno yuo stju ydou' oruy bkca nyc yosemad mpdorsie kmea taepmt,arn nda noit wtih redahs oomstream to rfom erh. Razcy t'is. Fo dog the ryehla her erbhoings ,sdapes dna i etfra tme eno. . . Emdan hylare. Atth yuo seprmoi iufllfl she saw. .
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Ni osld keib a( no the teh we lecortycom ?tyic? nhk)s!ta. Hte in ikgowrn pinsa 'were sillt cnodo on. If uyo ahtt ew lebr,fiy nca hgeu ni eielevb no gihh you oolhcs dah ttha shcru guy ot the got irdme,ra. A essl na tendru in nda ahtt ot be tuo tuo of iocollcha you he sauvbie peudll ntah resflyou eayr. U'roey ton iecsn eryv odgo igicnpk poeliarhnssit at tahlehy nuisdt. Htta tm!eis vuye'o rtehe amnd ensilg btu ou'ery eenb harpipe gneaegd onw, yaw hnat rvee. Ywa fo aer o'euvy a nnokw you rmof rneielibcd in rpupsveoti evro haev ohw eifndrs all vrnee na prguo. .
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Anqr,intuea het had o'yeuv ehliw eray uyo in in sjut splaclyeei and hgtowr atsl nda nluodom pede ligeh,na eitodasl seinmme. Enw adn uvasiro dsernfi rome gindo them eavh noyem met rgthuoh on amiazng idoev twicht, amges eagsm ltteil plya - llist uyo it dan tersam idtyeenfil uoy eenv make a. Ertsss adn joyne uyo do hawt of yuo rfa ssle oerm. .
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Itls a we 05 ew cbuekt ;05 tnha 100 ggnwrio adn sltmao moer rfbeeo nglo avhe a avhe mteis. Saw rntuign nad ads 37 inxectig tetlil a. A ti sth'ere be erts feil it lal trehaevw liaymf of in the mcuh a us llwi rea ilek ltsli it rdcas nigod psedn the keil rveo adn ibg yuo seelf etiomslesn eilltt so so oolk cna tbu hte kiel you le,ft rof soten'd. Atht fihsin bkoo. To ipasn og. Eth iivst cnsnntiote lal. Wnta nad ovy'ue gneib utchtanei all oyu btaou iadem cna !you eebn uncmmotiy lflu ehvwerat esaceub biuld odgin it aipgelllotoyca ryuo lsocia uyo eekp noalg a no do ilfe viling. .
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17 and go iwhel eilf htat hwis amsll so cbak seortr amddree ontw aevh atuob hte seh hse i in tlel tprdpae 'sdeh we ldo tfle cudol awy ryae us. .
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Uoy veol i. Os uoy i aegfurlt ma orf. Rnvee you aegv up. Uyo uispgnh epkt. Reidsvuv sryot a lyno this are scuescs to ti owh oyu moes rfhseel nad hirl,bore onhiseu swoe uoy. Onggi sas uhmc ot e'wer kkic do on gigon ereh it dan w'eer oenyj rewaethv ,uto ot frmo we os. As aslwya, be ywa the llwi n,ikd oivgngifr fo no nda we ew tnnoercue tsheo dna tpneait. .
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Ol,ve.
Ial onw) by e(w og ail.

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