It was the 3rd of August, 2026. I was in school, having a conversation with a friend, when the thought suddenly crossed my mind.

I hesitated for a moment before asking him:

“Do you know déjà vu? Have you ever experienced it? And how would you explain it?”

He said he had experienced it before, but not often. When I asked him what he thought it was, he couldn't really explain it.

Neither could I.

Still curious, I searched for an explanation.

Déjà vu, which means “already seen,” is commonly described as the strange feeling that you have experienced something before, even though you know you haven't. It is often explained as a brief confusion between familiarity and memory.

I understood the explanation, but I wasn't convinced.

Maybe because my experience has always felt different.

For me, déjà vu isn't simply “I've seen this before.”

Sometimes, I'm in the middle of a conversation or an ordinary moment, and suddenly, everything feels familiar. Not just the place or the situation.

The moment itself.

And strangely, I sometimes feel like I know what comes next.

It could be something that happens a few seconds later, or even a minute or two afterward. In that moment, I don't feel like I'm remembering the past.

It feels like I'm remembering something that hasn't happened yet.

I know how strange that sounds.

Actually, I've been reluctant to write about it for that very reason. Maybe there is a perfectly simple explanation for it, and I'm only making it mysterious because I don't understand it.

Maybe the brain is simply better at recognising patterns than we realise.

Maybe it's a memory glitch.

Maybe it's something else entirely.

And that's why I'm asking instead of claiming to have an answer.

What is déjà vu to you?

Have you ever experienced one that felt like more than simply remembering the past?

What if déjà vu is exactly what science says it is?

What if there's another explanation we haven't found?

And if you've ever experienced it the way I described it, what did it feel like to you?

I'm genuinely curious.

Maybe your experience will help me understand mine.