Jayna Locke

Jayna Locke is a Minnesota writer with roots in the Northwest, who loves to infuse her stories with a sense of place. She earned her MFA from the University of New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in Portage Magazine, Bright Flash Literary Review, Backwards Trajectory, Great Lakes Review, and two short story anthologies, and will be published in an upcoming issue of a Jackpine Talking Stick anthology. She is reachable through her website or on Twitter.

Neighbors

Benny was at the window again, watching the new family across the street crawling around the property like wild animals. Not literally crawling. Just… everywhere. He looked on, annoyed, as an indeterminate number of children occupied themselves with balls, bats, jump ropes, skateboards, trikes and bikes, and even small cars. One was Pepto Bismol pink and branded after the ever-popular Barbie, and a red one was painted in a fire engine theme. Horrible.

Issue 76, August 2023

Jayna Locke

Jayna Locke is a Minnesota writer with roots in the Northwest, who loves to infuse her stories with a sense of place. She earned her MFA from the University of New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in Portage Magazine, Bright Flash Literary Review, Backwards Trajectory, Great Lakes Review, and two short story anthologies, and will be published in an upcoming issue of a Jackpine Talking Stick anthology. She is reachable through her website or on Twitter.

Neighbors

Benny was at the window again, watching the new family across the street crawling around the property like wild animals. Not literally crawling. Just… everywhere. He looked on, annoyed, as an indeterminate number of children occupied themselves with balls, bats, jump ropes, skateboards, trikes and bikes, and even small cars. One was Pepto Bismol pink and branded after the ever-popular Barbie, and a red one was painted in a fire engine theme. Horrible.

Issue 76, August 2023

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