Visitations in Dreams

[innocentwanderer]

My family and I often have dreams of deceased loved ones. It's always in the same few ways - 1. they'd come to visit, like they're coming home from a trip and we're having a sort of homecoming party and we have a big dinner where they'd talk about their experience. 2. We'd bump into them somewhere and it's like we lost touch and are catching up like you would if you ran into an old friend in the supermarket or 3. I never had this, but my sister is the one that does, the person they dream about dies within 2 weeks of the dream. The person is usually sick or elderly. There is always a catch though, right before I wake up, I make the realization that they're dead and freak out. Last night was a little different...

Last night I had one of these dreams. The person that visited me was someone I never met. A friend of mine's grandfather passed away 2yrs ago of prostate cancer. I never met him, but in the dream he knew exactly who I was. It was the type of dream I described in #2 above. I was walking in a large public area. It was like an airport or train station with shops and restaurants. There was a lot of people there, pretty crowded. I first saw my friend and we said "Hi" as we walked passed one another. Then, I ran into his grandfather. He was happy to see me and gave me a big hug. "I always loved N's friends like you!" he said "People like you are always fun to hear about." Then he invited me to dinner at one of the restaurants with N and his family. We sat down to dinner and did nothing but laugh. He was known as a funny guy. My friend would always say that and how he enjoyed making people laugh. What I'm wondering is how he knew to come to me? In life, I heard stories about him but never met him. I've had dreams like this before but with people I met, but didn't know well. A classmate died that I never really hung in the same circle with. Soon after her death, I'd have these dreams that she'd visit me and showed me "Heaven" or tell me she was just "checking in" on me... Any thoughts?