Katy Borobia

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2022

Stories (7)

7 Stories

806 karma pts

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“A Tale of Two Mountains” by Katy Borobia

The beach was ash, a loose volcanic dust that slid treacherously under combat boots already filled with sweat, when suddenly the verdant dimpled butter pat that was Mount Suribachi disappeared. Instead, Ashkii was digging his bare heels into the fine loamy sand spread against the cliffs and riverbeds of Shiprock, New Mexico. The peaks of Tsé Bitʼaʼí towered over all in distant benediction. Junipers clustered like sheep in the folds of rocky hills. Smooth stones radiated heat in the sun; in the shadows cast by striped rock formations they ...

16 comments 16
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“Energy Crisis 2023” by Katy Borobia

Summer Bummer: Pyrotechnics delayed at 247th annual Fourth-of-Palooza July 3. Gregory Balkema, 28, lost his life this afternoon stunt-driving for South Haven’s most patriotic event of the year. Fourth-of-Palooza, which normally features two nights of fireworks, experimented this year with the addition of jet-propelled truck racing. Balkema drove his stunt truck “right into a fireball of gasoline, on purpose,” according to South Haven native Brendan Kowalski, 59. Kowalski added, “I gu...

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“Old Fishermen Never Die” by Katy Borobia

Cold salt water laps the beach, baptizing the goose tongue and goldenrod with spray. It stings my hands in places that have met with sharp rock and lobster claws: a good clean sting like ointment. The motorboat I moor onshore sputters to life. I am soaked with sea and fog before I have even reached the Pemaquid, tied further out so as not to run its keel aground. The lobster traps clank as I push past them to the engine. I wince at the high-pitched squeal, a testament to its manufacture date. The orange rubber overalls transform ...

66 comments 66 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Resurrection” by Katy Borobia

Sonoran summers… Eight lanes of pavement boil and pop across the Mexico–United States border, and eight lanes of vehicles crawl slower than a walk, halting for several minutes at a time. Their passengers cool themselves by running the heat with the windows up. They roll them down only for vendors walking fearlessly among them, selling ice water, claiming it is clean. Shrubby trees wither tawny and crisp all through the unbearably blue-sky day. Then the sun sets without warning and it becomes almost chilly. Fires fli...

32 comments 32
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“How to Win a Game of Chess Without Really Trying” by Katy Borobia

Disclaimer: There is no easy way to win a game of chess. But that’s only if by “winning” you mean hunting down your opponent’s king until he is gasping for air in a solitary corner, his vision fading into the black and white static of the board as your opponent (John, Meera, or Jeremy) commits seppuku by resignation. Only gradually will you return to the hard seats and smudged tabletops of your school’s B-grade lunch counter. You'll blink in a daze at the face of your opponent who, you must remember, is your friend in real life.<...

133 comments 133 WINNER 🏆
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“The Hummingbird” by Katy Borobia

“I’d be an atheist, but then I’d have no one to be angry with,” Horacio lisped. His delicate fingers brought the cigarette closer to his face, then back near mine with a languid, fluid motion that reminded me of fishing lines over Lake Chapala. I’d recently gotten into the habit of swallowing the bait, although I could see the hook perfectly well. “Socialists are always atheists,” I responded. I flicked the ash off the end and wondered if I was bored with him. “I've heard you say it yourself.” 

5 comments 5
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“A San Miguel Roadrunner” by Katy Borobia

Maria could tell almost before waking that Santiago was sleeping next to her. From the street came the sound of distant sirens, a noise that had become a comfort to her by familiarity, and she felt the early morning sunlight filter through the curtains onto the bed. With a groan, she rolled onto her back and glanced to her left. There was Santiago, his suddenly long and lanky body sprawled over the white sheets, face dark and expressionless. Maria watched him breathe softly through parted lips. The sun lit up his sweaty head like an angel...

15 comments 15 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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Author bio

Currently reading: "The Power and the Glory," Graham Greene Alfred, Lord Tennyson Robert Browning

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #149
How to Win a Game of Chess Without Really Trying – read story

Shortlisted 2 stories ⭐️

Contest #154
Old Fishermen Never Die – read story
Contest #146
A San Miguel Roadrunner – read story