I had an unsettling dream last night. I don't recall much of it, it seems I rarely remember my dreams in great detail, but what happened at the ending of it is something that I honestly believe may have been a very early childhood memory, from as far back as I can possibly remember. Everything else was some weird series of events that took place in what resembled a theater, not a movie theater but a traditional style theater you'd visit to see a play. But, that's not relevant. The last event that occurred in the dream must have been buried for at least 15 years. But that's just going by the assumption that it was actually a reliving of a far gone memory, I lack an opinion of the likelihood that it was or wasn't, I really just don't know.

In this memory, my mind seems to be hinting that I was a kid. It's very unusual because while I do have insanely odd dreams all the time, I can't think of any other instances of me being a kid in my adult dreams. I must have been about 3, 4, or 5 years old, possibly 6, but my best guess is 3 or 4. It's very brief. You see, my mother has a habit of leaving doors open on hot summer days. A stranger entered the house through the front door. I didn't see him enter, but I walked into the living room while he was there. He noticed me and immediately bolted, and that was it. I don't find it the least bit far-fetched to believe that in reality, some hooligan could have peeked in while the front door was open at a moment when my mom and/or dad (depending whether they were still married then) were in a different room, and thought he could quickly snatch something and get away with it. And this must have been about 2000 or 2001, I'd assume that alarm systems and video surveillance were less accessible and less effective at that time than they are now. But I'm also wondering if it was something quite different, maybe someone noticed the open door and didn't know if the occupant(s) knew the door was open, but fled because their anticipation was that the little boy would alert his parents that a stranger was in the house.

It's a mystery, and I'm pretty sure it always will be. From one perspective, I'm skeptical that long dead memories can resurface like that, but on the other hand, I don't see why else I would be wondering if it happened in reality.