By K.M. Lang
Off the Porch
FEATURED SHORT STORY
Sounds came from behind the door—voices, laughter, sobs and shouts. My sister was there, and my brother, and sometimes I even heard the voice of my father—though not my mother, for she was dead. My nieces and nephews were behind the door, and my cousins, aunts and uncles. The house contained a good-sized crowd. The porch was mine alone…
Short Stories
by KM Lang
“Once,” he said, soft, “I was sick and near frozen. I’d been for days out of meat. I wanted to give up—I surely did. But I said to myself, John, you’re going to get lucky. Fate’s going to soften toward you. You’ll show up with gifties and bonbons and trinkets, warmth itself waiting for you.”
THE BEDWARMER
Off the Porch: An Allegory
For a long, long time I lived on a porch. I can still see it in my mind. It had a roof, a wooden floor, and weathered, peeling paint, and everything about it led to the door. And the door was always closed. Sounds came from behind the door—voices, laughter, sobs and...
The Bedwarmer
The Bedwarmer appeared in Tears in the Fence vol. 42, Autumn 2005. I was clearing the breakfast mess from the tables when Wondermud spoke at me. “Blue, get yourself over here.” A man sat across from her at the bar—the same man who’d breakfasted there. I’d noticed him,...
Anthems from Hell
Anthems From Hell appeared in Tears in the Fence vol. 41, Summer 2005. This story is true. When I close my eyes I see it happen. I spend long stretches with my eyes closed, watching it in my head. It begins with a boy—an ordinary boy. One evening this boy was lying on...