Bad Dream

I had a friend, X, in college. A boy friend, never kissed, never held hands , purely platonic. 10 years later,we reconnected after the tragic death of a close mutual friend. We would correspond a few times a year: how are the kids, latest vacation, church assignments, etc. We have not seen each other, except for pictures, in 30 years. He looks just the same, I am quite fat! We live on opposite sides of the country.

I would share his funny stories with Don. Our mail came to each other's home emails.

I hadn't heard from X for a while.

One night I had a strange dream. I was standing in a dingey apartment that my kids were going to move into, preparing to clean. I was thinking about how to tackle the job. I had mop, bucket and cleaning supplies at my side.

X walks through the door. I am so happy to see him after 30 years! I give him a long-lost friend hug. He seems very sad.

"I hope you're in town for a happy reason."

He shakes his head and starts to cry.

Dream ends. I wake up.

The dream troubles me all day. I tell my friends, ask for advice and decide to email him as soon as I get home from school.

I briefly explain the dream, tell him I hope everything's ok, accompanied by a little chatty letter.

The next morning he writes back. He was on a business trip, opened my email at the airport. He was waiting for a flight to take him home. Earlier that morning he had received the news that his Father in Law had passed away the night before. He said it was really strange that I would send that email the afternoon before his F.I.L. died. A shiver ran through me. I sent back my condolensces.

That was November 2008. I haven't heard from him since then. After writing a couple of times and receiving no answer, I gave up.

If I ever have another "premonition", you can bet I won't share it.