Bianca J. Cook

A Sudden Bribe in the Park A man crouched down on the cobblestone walkway and pressed a folded ten-dollar bill into a little boy’s red knitted mitten. He gestured toward a woman strolling down the snow-covered path in an elegant cream coat. The young boy looked up with wide eyes, gripping the cash before turning … Read more

An Elevator Door Opens A woman in a satin green halter dress raised her index finger and jabbed it straight toward the hotel housekeeper standing beside a loaded towel cart. The brass elevator frame glistened around them as the elevator floor leveled with the main lobby. Behind the woman, her partner stood with his hands … Read more

A Broken Load on Cracked Asphalt The rear wheel of the bicycle wobbled as an oversized green melon slid off the top slat and thumped against the pavement. An elderly man leaned his full weight over the curved handlebars, his boots pressing down hard on worn pedals that squeaked with every turn. Behind him, a … Read more

A Cruel Hand From The Car Window The fried drumstick slipped from the driver’s fingers and bounced across the dirty curb. Dust and gravel coated the hot crust before it settled beside an old pair of worn work boots. Inside the gold sedan, the driver threw his head back against the headrest, mouth open wide … Read more

A Taut Strand Across Velvet Antlers The young buck jerked his neck backward, his hooves sliding through the wet orchard mud as metal scraped bone. The horizontal wire fence line caught him directly beneath the brow tines, trapping his head against the tight tension of the boundary cable. Each time he pulled back, the metallic … Read more

An Urgent Struggle on the Pavement A squirrel shoved her entire snout into a narrow opening bored straight through the concrete pathway, her front paws clawing at the rough edges. Her bushy tail flicked upward in sharp, erratic twitches while her hind legs scrambled for traction against the smooth gray surface. A few yards behind … Read more

A Shape in the Yellow Line Her running shoes pounded the gray asphalt along the lake road, keeping a steady rhythm until a pale, rounded dome caught her eye directly ahead. It sat balanced precariously on the painted center line, motionless under an overcast autumn sky. As she drew closer, the shape resolved into a … Read more

A Tap Against The Glass A woman turned her steering wheel slightly, watching a deer press its snout toward the driver-side window while pacing the vehicle’s speed along the roadside. She brought the van to a halt on the pine needle shoulder. The doe kept her brown eyes locked on the cab, her ears twitching … Read more

An Insistent Tug on an Autumn Morning The bristles of the heavy outdoor broom scraped rhythmically across wet asphalt, gathering damp brown oak leaves into neat piles along the lakeside path. A sudden scramble of small hooves clattered over the pavement as a young white-tailed deer charged straight toward the man’s back. Instead of bolting … Read more

An Unexpected Pursuit Along the Lake Two small hands reached into the grass and lifted a tiny gray cygnet off the ground. The mother swan snapped her wings wide open, hissed sharply, and lunged forward with her orange beak thrust outward. The toddler dropped the young bird into the grass and scrambled backward. Tears flooded … Read more

Standing Firm On Polished Stone Dried brown earth fell in small flakes from the heel of a heavy leather work boot onto the pristine marble floor. The man wearing the boots stood tall, his broad shoulders filling out a thick tan canvas jacket marked by days of hard labor. A pair of silver military tags … Read more

Conor had always been a little dramatic whenever he got sick or hurt. A simple cold meant hot soup, endless cups of tea, extra blankets, and regular updates about how miserable he felt. So when one of his coworkers brought him home one afternoon with his right leg in a cast, I expected him to … Read more