Her dream last night included being terrified, seeing a friend that has passed away, and speaking to a person she used to be good friends with.

She had recently moved into a beautiful white, two-story house with beautiful white wooden walls and country-like decor. Fresh flowers sat at each end table, filling the room with bright yellows and greens. The sunlight peaked through the slotted blinds ever so gently, giving life to the flowers. She had company over as she heard the bustle of a small gathering in the background. Everyone was preoccupied as she leisurely walked about the home, making sure everything was perfect for her guests. She gazed off through the front window of the home. Her home was directly in line with the neighbor across the street. As she looked at her neighbor’s home, clouds began to weigh in, blanketing the sky in a dark gray. She noticed someone walking down the neighbor’s pathway towards her home. She stared, trying to figure out what the person looked like. Her vision had always been poor since she was young so it wasn’t unusual for her to look at a subject for a prolonged period of time, trying to unravel its details with her eyes. Her vision tunneled to the person as now everything was dark gray. The figure walked slowly, head hanging low. Everything on the figure was black, so it was hard to make out any details. She couldn’t see his or her face. She began to fear that this figure wasn’t human. Just as the thought formulated in her head, the figure looked at her dead in the eyes for a split second and sprinted towards her. She screamed, falling back on the wooden floor, and closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, the figure vanished. Her scream grabbed the attention of her partner, who ran over to her and asked if she was okay. “I swear I saw a ghost,” she muttered quietly, still staring at the pathway the figure was walking on. Her partner followed her gaze, but of course, nothing was there. The sky was still dark gray. “Looks like it’s about to rain, maybe we should have the party another time,” her partner said gently. She nodded. She was grateful of his understanding of how spiritual she was and how frightened she was in the moment. She wouldn’t be able to function socially if she thought a ghost was out to get her. Unsurprisingly, it was around Halloween time and it was this year that she learned there was a fictional superstition that on Halloween, dead souls can walk amongst the lively. She definitely thinks that was making her paranoid.

She continued to experience this scene multiple times, repeatedly, over and over again. She even caught the figure on a security camera that was set up on the front porch after the scare. The same figure rushed at her several times day after day. She began to become frantic in the home. She didn’t feel safe. She messaged an old friend. (Apparently they were on talking terms in this dream.) However, instead of opening the door to let her friend in, she found that it was another friend entering her home. A friend that passed away tragically years ago. She stood there, looking at him, mouth agape.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, hoping it didn’t come off aggressively.

“I guess you were expecting Adam, huh? Sorry I’m not what you were expecting.” He laughed, not taking it personal. As she knew him, he was laidback and joked frequently.

“I’m sorry, yeah, I just…didn’t know you were around.” She continued staring at him in awe. The presence of Adam, the friend she did call over, snapped her back into reality. She flustered, “Uh- oh- uhm, hold on, you stay here. I need to talk to Adam.”

Adam read the situation and laughed, “Yeah, I didn’t know he was around either. What do you need help with?” She was still in shock, but managed to explain the frights she had been experiencing and showed him the security camera footage of the figure. They used to frequently watch paranormal, horror movies when they were in high school and he had his fair share of encounters as well so maybe he could help her. The two conversed, trying to decrypt the figure and its purpose.

Their voices faded as the only thought in her mind was seeing her dead friend again. His familiar smile, his familiar demeanor.

Was he visiting her because she didn’t visit him as she promised this year? Was his warm and familiar presence a gesture of forgiveness?