That night Marianne slept peacefully with Paul beside her. She awoke as the morning sun’s first rays came through the large bedroom windows. She opened her eyes and saw the beautiful glimmering angel of her dreams sleeping beside her. Marianne rubbed her eyes. He was really there, she had never seen him sleeping! He was back, even though he had told her he wouldn’t ever be back! She had missed him so. He was always her confidant and protector. She reached out and put her hand gingerly over his. She could actually feel his hand, this wasn't a dream! He opened his gorgeous blue-gray eyes and smiled at her sleepily. Oh! How she had missed those brilliant colored, intense eyes and his smile! Marianne stared in wide-eyed amazement.
“It’s just me,” he whispered. “Let's go back to sleep.”
Marianne watched his lips move as he spoke. Wait that isn’t right! She remembered the angel with perfect clarity. This creature’s voice came from his mouth, not from inside her head! Marianne's mind raced and she sat up abruptly. She stared at him, where were his wings? This was not her angel! He was a fake!
“Marianne, what is wrong?” the imposter spoke slightly louder this time.
Marianne sucked in a deep breath and inched away from him slowly. She had to escape because this was not her angel he was a trickster! Her angel had never spoken aloud for she had always known his thoughts.
“You are going to fall off of the bed!” The angel abruptly sat up. Marianne froze. All the color had drained from her face. “Marianne, please, it’s me Paul!” Now the imposter was actually looking worried, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Wake up! You’re safe it’s just me, Paul.” His voice was soft and soothing like velvet, he held his hand out towards her.
Marianne heard his voice coming to her as if she were in a tunnel, she shook her head then rubbed her eyes. She focused on Paul again and the shimmering stopped so she let out a big sigh.
“Oh! I’m sorry I thought you were…” her voice trailed off.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly thinking she wasn’t quite awake yet.
“It…was…it…was…you,” Marianne stuttered. "It was always you."
“What? What was I?”
“You were the angel.”
“What angel?” Paul asked, because of course this wasn’t making any sense because he she had startled him in his sleepy state of mind.
Surely, he wondered if she had gone off the deep end. “The angel from all my dreams! Never mind it was just a dream.”
He looked at her intently for a moment before he slowly spoke. “Well, I dreamed about you all the time.” He replied. “That is until I met you in the library and I knew you were real right then. Why do you think I kept talking to you and visiting you? I had been waiting forever for you!” She stared at him. Their conversations were so odd, sometimes things came from his mouth that she didn’t understand and she wasn’t sure he did either. He continued, “In fact I always held you every night in my dreams, even though I don’t remember having any wings,” he smiled. “I used to want to be asleep more than I wanted to be awake. In my dreams I could still hold you in my arms and kiss you when I couldn’t find you or you weren’t back yet.”
“Back from where?” Marianne asked completely puzzled now. Where was this coming from? Why couldn't he find her? what was he talking about.
“I don’t know, wherever you go when you die,” he said. “I cannot remember that because it has been so long.” He wasn't about to tell her how many of her lifetimes he had waited to find her.
"Paul this is the weirdest conversation we have ever had!"
