Short Fiction: TALL STORY (Part 1)

Elusive Beauty Standards & Dystopian Dreams. Illustrated by Mikala Monsoon

To celebrate the forthcoming release of my debut novel Another Life, it feels fitting for me to share some fiction here on Substack for the very first time (gulp!).

Tall Story came to me in a dream, almost fully formed. In the dream, I was a very different version of myself living a life that is different from my own in so many ways. My real life family is nothing like the one in this story and the friends are not based on any friends I actually have. However, the ideas this character entertains are inspired by a genuine insecurity I’ve always had about my height (as I imagine the dream itself was!).

Since I first had this dream though, I’ve found myself in the company of a few tall, beautiful women whose elegance and grace have made me feel so much less insecure about my own 176cm frame. And, of course, I’ve always known there are bigger things in the world (and, indeed, my life) to worry about. However, this concept was a lot of fun to explore on the page and allowed me to dive into…