Background information I'm a freshman in college, and I'm in love with a high school senior. We've been together for 10 months on and off. Sometimes he acts as if he takes my love for granted, and I always wondered why he didn't realize how much I love him and how much I care.

I recently found out that he acts the way he does (towards women) because his mother abandoned him as a child, and he had to fend for himself until his uncle brought him in. I felt really bad for judging him and not understanding his situation. Also, I worry what's going to happen in the future (he graduates in May) and I fear it means the end of our relationship. So I guess that's been on my mind lately.

In my dream, he was brought in by the cops, but at first things didn't seem serious. It seems they thought he committed a crime, but he was innocent. He was joking around with them, when all the sudden they gassed him in a gas chamber, and they laughed as he died.

I remember seeing everything and being there when he died. In the dream, I was with his family and I went to the funeral. When I went up to the coffin, I remember breaking down, screaming and crying, asking him why he left me alone. And then I woke up crying.

This boy means everything to me, and I don't know what I would do if he was to suddenly be out of my life. Does this dream mean that he is going to die suddenly? Or is it just reconfirming my fear of the future?

—Nina, Age 18, Single but involved, NJ, USA

Hi Nina—

I know you need an answer to this dream A.S.A.P. Why would you ever dream about someone you love being killed?

Fortunately, I think you provided all the background we need to understand this dream. You have been upset recently with your boyfriend's lack of attention. When you learned that he was abandoned by his mother at a young age, though, you felt bad that you had judged him before - without understanding all the facts. This feeling is represented in your dream by your boyfriend being arrested (judged) for a crime that it turns out he did not commit.

Just when you think he is going to be set free, the police put him into a gas chamber, and he dies. Death in dreams is a consistent metaphor for change and separation. Is it possible, as you suggest, that your dream really is showing your fears for the future? Your boyfriend is a senior in high school, and next year he will probably move away to begin college. Are you worried that this change will spell the death of your relationship?

Death in dreams always is confusing, because our immediate tendency is to worry if the dream is precognitive or a warning. Given the background you provide though, we can all be sure that the death you fear is only a symbolic one.