Where Angels Dwell
Ann Crystal
Where Angels Dwell
Copyright June 2017 Ann Crystal
Published by Ann Crystal
Cover artwork by Ann Crystal
Thank you for downloading this short story. All rights reserved. This short story remains the copyrighted property of the author, Ann Crystal. You are welcome to share this short story with your family and friends so long as it remains in its complete original form, and that it is for non-commercial purposes. Not to be sold. Thank you.
This short story is a work of fiction. Any similarity to characters or locale is completely coincidental.
This short story is dedicated to all the members of my family who now dwell in heaven. Love and miss you all.
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Where Angels Dwell
Author’s Note
This is a fun story that I wrote as a farewell to the city where I have lived for thirty years, a city that I'll soon be moving away from. The following story is a work of fiction, with all places and characters fictional (although, if anyone knows where angels (the ones with real wings) really get together, let me know).
-Ann Crystal
pagesbycrystal.weebly.com
Where Angels Dwell
My name is Vienna Spark, I am an artist who has spent most of my life in the city of Los Angeles. A charming city that seems to have a little of something for every personality. A fact that my grandmother, Hilda highlighted in twelve different ways when I told her that I wanted to leave, The City of Angels.
It all began over a dinner of chicken and rice. My grandmother's house was not a large one, yet we were never left with a desire for more because of its four tiny bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Antiques furnished the house, which gave it a cozy feel with a touch of elegance.
My parents like to travel, new seasons have always meant a new town or city. A visit to grandmother's house when I was twelve had me begging to stay with her. Flash forward eighteen years, and I was ready for a change of scenery. With my fourteen-year-old cousin, Anthony sent to live with us, I felt that it was the perfect time for me to skip town.
"It's not like I won't visit, grandma." I said when my grandmother paused in her debate to eat. "I always loved visiting our family once a year. Their entire town is quaint and a step back into time. I always said that I'd settle down there, but if I don't do it soon then I probably won't until I'm at retirement age."
Grandmother Hilda took a small sip from her glass of juice before she turned to me.
"And when I've moved on," she said in low-toned voice, "Will you have any reason to return for a visit?"
"Well," I was taken aback by the question. In my head, my grandmother was immortal. "I do have my friends here, and there's always something new to see even after living here for eighteen years." I thought about some of my favorite places in the city of, Los Angeles that I never grew tired of revisiting. "And I'll miss my favorite haunts. But no, I don't believe I would have a real reason to come back then. I mean, old friends can be kept up with over social media." I sighed, "And I might as well stay if I planned on revisiting until I've seen all this city has to offer."
"Promise?" Grandmother Hilda said, "Promise me that once you've moved up to Northern California, that you'll never return and transfer back."
"Alright, if that will prove to you how serious I am." It was a ridiculous request, at least I felt that it was ridiculous. I could not honestly promise that I would never return to Los Angeles once I had left, or that I would not move to another city altogether. "I promise that I have no current reason to remain in Los Angeles, and will try my very best to refuse any temptation to return."
My grandmother smiled and nodded. "My accountant was advising me that I should sell the house and buy another outright." She said after another sip of her juice. "And my brothers have been bugging me for months to return home." She sighed as she looked at me, "The only reason I did not consider it was because I could not imagine leaving you alone in this big, bad city."
"I have friends here," I said, "You know that I wouldn't have been alone, alone. But, that would be totally awesome."
"Do you happen to know any real estate agents among those friends of yours?" Grandmother Hilda asked as she stood.
"Nope." I admitted. "So, can I still live with you up north?"
"First year free," grandmother Hilda replied as she moved around the dinner table, "A hundred and fifty dollars a month thereafter."
"But grandma," I whined, "In Los Angeles I pay zero bucks a month."
I heard my grandmother giggle as she made her way out into the living room and down the hall to her bedroom.
