"Last night I dreamed I killed you."

Words every teacher longs to hear.

A student told me this morning that he dreamed last night that he killed me. I asked how. He said he hit me in the forehead with a hammer (the chisel end).

I'm having a hard time choosing a word/emotion for how I feel about this. On one hand, it's a dream. It wasn't a threat, and honestly, if he said that he'd killed me with a gun in his dream I'd have been more nervous. On the other hand, why would he tell me that? If I had a dream where I really actually killed someone, I don't think I would tell anyone. I don't know.

I was the least shocked of anyone that heard him say it--another teacher and several other students heard him--and I guess I really didn't react. Well...I reacted by asking probing questions. The conversation went something like this:

Him: "Last night I dreamed I killed you."

Me: "Oh yeah? How'd you do it?"

Him: "I hit you in the forehead with a hammer."

Another student: "Which end?"

Him: "The chisel end."

Me: "Did it stick in my head or could you pull it out easily?"

This last question threw him a bit--he didn't expect me to ask it, surely, and I think I handled it the right way by unnerving him rather than showing him that he had unnerved me. That's the best emotion word--"unnerved." I'm not scared or worried or offended....just.....unnerved.