my brother, my acquaintance

Date: 1/10/2017

I was walking down the street in the old neighborhood, and saw a guy putting stuff in (or taking stuff out) of his car. As I came closer, I saw it was Tommy (my brother). In real life, we've had a strained relationship. In my dream, we had brief eye contact and recognition. I casually walked by, and merely acknowledged him: "Hi Tommy!" …and kept walking. I think he had a moment of surprise and then waited for me to stop. I kept walking and didn't look back. Although I felt bad for him and for us, the need to keep walking was the best thing I could do for me, to avoid his toxic and paranoid thinking. Upon waking, I thought how sad it was, but this is what our relationship seems to have turned to.