Dead but Not Yet

July 30, 2025

A few nights ago I had a dream about a friend that I had in high school named Jasmine. I've been out of high school for over a decade, but I still dream about being in high school all the time.

In the dream, in the morning before school, I read in the newspaper that Jasmine had died two days before. Then, I got on the bus for school and she was sitting there in a seat. The entire bus ride to school I was thinking to myself "Oh, she doesn't know yet that she's already died" and I was worrying about whether or not I should tell her.

Then the dream did one of those cut aways where your brain knows time has passed and your dream-self did a bunch of other things, but you didn't actually experience or see any of it. So then we were back on the bus again, riding home in the afternoon. I kept thinking if it was the right or wrong thing to do to tell her that when she got off the bus that afternoon, she wouldn't be coming back.

I ended up getting off of the bus before her stop, and just kind of stared at her as I walked down the stairs, knowing that she didn't know she would die soon, and I was only thinking "Poor Jasmine".