Bianca J. Cook

A Sudden Arrival at the Front Door A young man stood on the front porch, gripping a black suitcase in his right hand as the front door cracked open. Eleanor looked through the narrow gap, adjusting her glasses as her son offered to move back home following his father’s passing. She reminded him that three … Read more

A Race Against Time The young runner placed a pair of cracked, crumbling sneakers onto the wooden workbench with trembling hands. Dust puffed from the split fabric as the soles threatened to detach completely from the uppers. His fingers gripped the counter, knuckles white, as he explained that his father had run his very first … Read more

A Sudden Confrontation in Row Twelve The woman in the white blouse gripped the handles of a maroon shoulder bag and hurled it straight onto the carpeted aisle floor. She planted both feet into the walkway, leaned forward, and shouted directly into the older woman’s face. The cabin stayed dead silent around them as passengers … Read more

A Heated Confrontation In The Hallway The barista pressed his open palm firmly against the older man’s jacket, shoving him back toward the counter. The older customer tightened his grip on a steaming ceramic mug and raised a crumpled paper receipt between his fingertips. Brown liquid sloshed dangerously close to the white rim as the … Read more

A Tangle of Fabric on the Floor An older man knelt onto the cold linoleum, reaching down to gather a pile of rumpled cotton shirts dropped beneath an open dryer door. Across from him, a younger man in a sleeveless grey hoodie leaned against the metal frame, hands braced against the edge of the rim. … Read more

Turned Away at the Glass Door A man in a torn grey hoodie pressed his palm flat against his stomach as he shuffled down the damp sidewalk. He stopped at a concrete bench, pulled out a frayed cloth wallet, and counted out twenty-three cents in loose change. Looking up through the cold evening air, he … Read more

A Cold Knock on Glass Two gloved palms slammed flat against the frosted glass of the entrance. Snow clung to the dark curls of David’s hair as he pressed his forehead toward the pane, shivering inside a worn denim jacket. Inside the empty diner, Mary Johnson set down her rag, turned the brass padlock on … Read more

A Warm Plate In The Rain Victor crouched on the wet asphalt, tearing into a soggy crust of bread pulled from a discarded cardboard box. Water dripped steadily from the brim of an umbrella held by an angry passerby who pointed down the alley, ordering him to move. Victor clutched the remaining piece against his … Read more

An Unwelcome Presence in a Quiet Living Room The woman smoothed the front of her knitted beige cardigan and stepped softly toward the kitchen counter. Her son gripped a white mug, eyes fixed on his smartphone while his wife adjusted her bag beside the marble island. Neither of them looked up as the elderly woman … Read more

A Choice at the Counter Harold counted out thirty-four dollars and fifty cents, flattening the bills onto the pharmacy counter. The brown bottle of prescription medication slid toward him across the laminate surface. Behind him in line, an elderly woman unclasped her purse and sorted through nickels, dimes, and folded singles. Her hands shook against … Read more