Sean MacLeod is a musician, songwriter, author, music producer and lecturer from Dublin, now living in Limerick, Ireland. He has been writing and producing music for over thirty years and has written three books exploring popular music and its cultural influence.

His interests also extend to philosophy, spirituality and literature. Sean teaches film, music and media studies at the Limerick College of Further Education and is currently completing an Arts Practice PhD in Music at the University of Limerick.

He is now turning his attention to fiction and is writing a collection of short stories for adults in the form of children’s tales.

The Tall Woman That Nobody Saw

By Sean MacLeod

There was once a very tall girl. She was so tall that even when she was small, she was still very tall.

Because of her height, she was able to help those who needed it, so no one was ever jealous of her.

When little Puss would get caught in a tree, she could reach up and catch him. When Nanny Finn could not reach something high in the kitchen, she could easily fetch it down for her. When the little children wanted the tastiest apples from the tree, they would beg her to reach up and get them.

She never thought about how tall she was. For her, it was normal. She was just content knowing that everyone around her was happy because of the things she could do for them.

One day, she met a boy, and they fell in love. He was tall too, and they were very happy together. Everyone thought they were the happiest (and tallest) couple they had ever seen.

One day, the boy, who was now a man, noticed that she, who was now a woman, had grown taller than him.

He told her that she had outgrown him.

At first, they laughed about it, but then the man started to feel that she was growing taller than him on purpose.

Over time, that small thought began to make him hunch a little. To everyone else, it made him seem smaller than her. But he believed it was her who was deliberately being taller. Sometimes, he would get so angry with her for being so mean to him in this way, that he would slam doors, and sometimes he would not speak to her for days.

But… when his anger subsided, he could be quite gentle again. More like he used to be when she first knew him. Then she would reach up to get something for him, or simply stand beside him, and his behaviour would become erratic again.

She was getting so confused that she felt she had to do something. She thought and thought about how she could make the situation at home more pleasant.

So she began to stoop and hunch her shoulders. She tried to become smaller than her man.

But because he was so angry, he always hunched over more than her.

Besides, her friends started to become unhappy with her because she could no longer do the things she had always done for them. She could no longer reach the apples, catch little Puss from the tree, or fetch things down from the highest shelves for Nanny Finn.

Because she could not find a solution to her situation, she started to worry that perhaps she would simply disappear.

One day, she saw an old friend in the street. They had always been very close. But after she was married, they never saw much of each other again.

She tried to avoid him, thinking he would not see her.

She walked along the pavement, stooping over and looking down at the ground. As she got closer, she walked past him as if he wasn’t there. But the man recognised her immediately.

“Hello,” he said.

She was very surprised that he had seen her.

“Hello,” she said and began to straighten herself up a little.

“It has been a long time,” said the man.

“Yes,” she said. “How time flies.”

“Yes, indeed it does,” he said, “and you have hardly changed a bit.”

She looked at him strangely.

“If you would like, you might take some tea with me?”

The woman beamed with happiness and stood up taller than she had in a long time.

“I can’t, I’m afraid,” she said, hunching her shoulders a little, “but thank you for asking. It’s very kind of you.”

“Well, may I walk with you? It would be nice to catch up.”

The woman smiled and they walked along the street chatting about old times.

When they passed by a tea shop, the man asked again if she would like to take some tea, but, once more, she declined his offer. At least she thought she had. But before she knew it, she was standing inside the shop looking at all the lovely cakes and buns.

When the waitress came, she took the woman’s coat and showed them to the best table in the tea shop. The woman smiled happily to herself as she read through the menu. Then she ordered tea and some lemon drizzle cake, which was her absolute favourite.

They talked about all sorts of things and about what he had been doing since she last saw him. They laughed and they laughed and they chatted and chatted. The woman was having so much fun that she even ordered a second slice of cake.

After some time, when the conversation had ended and all the cake was eaten, the woman went silent for a moment. The man immediately noticed that something was wrong.

“Is everything alright? Did I say something to upset you?” he asked.

The woman looked at him.

“May I ask you something?” she said very seriously.

“Yes, of course,” he replied.

“How can you see me? I am getting so small that I am nearly invisible.”

“But,” he said, “I can always see you because I do not see you with my eyes. I see your heart. It is your big heart that makes you reach for the apples for the little children, catch little Puss from the tree, and fetch things down from the highest shelf.”

“Oh,” said the woman, blushing.

“It is because you have a big heart that you are tall, not the other way around.”

The woman smiled brightly and took a sip of tea. 

“How time flies,” he said, looking at his watch. “I am afraid I must get going. It has been a pleasure seeing you again.”

He paid the bill and left a generous tip for the waitress. And just as he was about to leave, he looked at the woman and said:

 “I have always been able to see your big heart and I have always kept it inside my own. And no matter what happens, you will never be small in there.”

The woman sat for a moment. The words of her friend ringing in her ears. When she finally stood up to leave, she was standing as tall, if not taller, than she had ever been. She thanked the waitress and put her coat on. And when she left the tea shop, she had to stoop to get out the door.