Short story about woman hearing sounds of (alien?) sex from next door

February 18, 2024 8:24 PM

This was in a sci-fi anthology, must have been around 2000-2005? The protagonist keeps wondering what sordid activity the sounds from the neighboring apartment might be hinting at, until she screws up the courage to look for herself, only to find a non-human creature engaged in relations with her waifish neighbor. I distinctly remember the last lines of the story being something like "not an angel, never has been. maybe once, long, a long time ago" (probably mangled the quote through my bad memory)
posted by tigrrrlily to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Don' recall that short story, but might it be from the aging alien sex anthology?
posted by j_curiouser at 12:55 AM on February 19

Best answer: Is it "Angels in Love" by Kathe Koja? Google Books lists that quote in issue 81 on page 118 of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, This Index lists that story, and this book summary seems to match your description of the story.
posted by mochi_cat at 12:56 AM on February 19 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Definitely "Angels in Love". You can find the July 1991 edition of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction that it was originally published in here. Your memory of the final line is pretty much spot-on! (see page 118 for the final page of the story).
posted by greycap at 2:52 AM on February 19 [8 favorites]