The Black Cat

            For weeks, I'd drive down the hill and make a left turn, only to see a black cat waiting for me on the curbside. I'd speed up so he wouldn't cross my path. I'm not overly superstitious, but you can never be too careful.
            It happened over and over. And once or twice I'd speed up in vain, for the cat had it in mind to cross my path at great risk to his safety. In those instances, I'd drive away consumed with irrational fears of the unknown, having to convince myself it was just a cat.
            The cat had a look to him that worried me, like he knew something that I didn't know. Sometimes he'd look me in the eyes and follow me as I drove by. He'd just sit there and stare like an old sage with bright yellow eyes.
            A few days ago I made the left turn in the afternoon and there was the cat waiting for me. I turned to look at him to gauge whether he was going to run or not. But this time when I looked at him I noticed something different. There were four or five other black cats asleep on the pathway behind him. I laughed. Well, that explains it. It was trickery to the highest degree.
  

Banco

            I parked my car in front of my bank. I was on a slope. I turned my wheels toward the curb. I hadn't finished turning the wheel when I heard a crushing sound coming from the right front tire. It was ominous. I got out of the car and checked the tire. Sure enough, there was a hissing sound coming from it.
            I wasn't sure what to do. I considered my options. Should I drive away and find a tire shop, or deposit money into my account? I might as well make the deposit, I reasoned.
            There was a line, but it wasn't too bad, a couple of ladies and myself. But things slowed down some. I could hear the tire hissing in the back of my mind as I stood there.
            Anything else for you, Miss? Yes, may I have a cashiers check for a hundred dollars... I was hoping she'd say oh, no thank you.
            A guy in his twenties was playing with his phone while he waited for his transaction to be made. The kid couldn't pull himself away from it. He was looking down at it stupidly. He was all thumbs. He had the fastest thumbs I've every seen. It was troubling to look at.            
            I finally had a turn at a teller. I slid him a check and asked for a dollar in quarters just in case I needed to put air in my tire. The teller looked at me oddly. I felt obligated to tell him the story. I parked on a slope and I turned my wheel... I should have never told him.