The Returning Muse

20250524

Prompt from DailyPrompt.com

Alfonzo blinked and looked up as a familiar presence filled his little garret office. “Ah! My Lady Muse! At last you have returned to me!”
The shimmering being always appeared to him as a beautiful young woman, dressed in the fashions of his grandmother’s era. Despite lacking colour she was a wondrous sight.
“Did I offend you? A thousand apologies if so! I never intended-”
“Offend me?” She tilted her head, brow furrowing, lips curving into a politely perplexed smile. “No, not at all. I simply wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I…” Alfonzo fumbled for words. “If I didn’t offend you, why did you leave me?”
“You were doing well. I wasn’t needed anymore.”
“But you were! Ever since you left the art has been such a struggle! With your aid I could pen scores of beautiful tunes, whereas now…” He gestured, shoulders slumping, to the many crumpled and crossed-out sheets littering his desk.
“Alfonzo…” Her expression was gentle, yet held a certain reproach. “Every art is difficult to master. If not, there would be no ‘mastery’. With time, and care, you will be able to create music just as beautiful as what we wove together.”
“B-but if you helped me…”
She sighed. “You say that you didn’t learn from our time together, then beg me to stay with you? Alfonzo, please. Hear your own words. I bring inspiration. Not skill. I came to you as a young artist to give you hope, to show you your potential, to help you practice. Do you not now know you are capable of great music? Do you not strive to produce more?”
“I do, but I cannot!”
“You can.” Her tone grew stern. “The only difference is that with my aid, the process felt effortless. Do you not remember how many nights we spent together? How we hunted parks for the perfect notes of birdsong to imitate? The hours of listening to the city, trying to capture its heartbeat in a drum?”
Alfonzo stared unseeing at his cluttered desk as the memories filtered back.
“And now you are sitting alone in a stuffy room, scribbling notes over notes, wondering why it isn’t working.” She clicked her tongue. “Come. Let us go for a walk. And this time, dear Alfonzo, please pay attention to the process.”

Prompt was “Create a dialogue scene between an artist and their muse.”