"Hello, FanStory.com, how may I help you?"

"Is this Sherry?  You don't sound like yourself."

"I'm not myself.  I'm Susan, and I'm here, ready and willing to solve your problem.  What's your name?"

"Annmuma."

"Guess what, Annmuma, you sound just like yourself!  Again, how may I help you?"

"I'm lost.  Well, I'm not exactly lost, but I've lost myself.  Sorta.  It's my muse I can't find, and I'm not me without it."

"Let's see.  You've lost yourself?   Where were you the last time you had you?  Essays, poems, short stories?  Where?"

"Oh, I can't remember.  I do love to get lost in a good story, and there's nothing better than a little social rant to get my blood pumping.  Poetry makes me laugh or cry or do both at the same time.  Can you just connect me to the Lost and Found Department?  I can offer a good description of my lost muse."

"Hey, hey, there, Anonymity--"

"Name's Annmuma!  No-one listens to me any more, not since I lost my muse.  Where I was once interesting and exciting, I am now repetitive and boring.  Please connect me to Lost and Found."

"Calm down.  Tell me--just a moment.  I've got another line.  Hold on.  Listen to the music--maybe you'll get lost there!"

"Susie Q, you are ...."

"Okay, I'm back now.  Tell me a little about your muse."

"Well, he's erratic.  He's comes and goes with little regard for my feelings.  Sometimes, in the middle of the night, he wakes me up with some idea that must be written down right that moment.  Other times, I sit for hours, staring at my computer screen, begging him to hop on my shoulder while he sits in the corner, dormant."

"Sounds like you might be better off without him."

"Oh, no.  Like I told you, I am lost without him.  On his good days he's witty, interesting, creative, fun to be around and exploding with 'must-tell' stories."

"How long has he been gone?"

"It's been a week now that I've sat and stared at my computer.  Nothing comes, just a headache from thinking so hard!"

"Thinking about what?"

"Oh, I was mentally reminiscing about a recent high school reunion I attended."

"Uh-huh?"

"Yeah, a guy, wearing a white t-shirt emblazoned with the logo 'It doesn't matter how deep you fish. It's how you wiggle your worm' sat at one end of the table.  Another, this one with a doctorate's degree and regaling us with all of his philanthropic activities in Latvia and Estonia, sat at the opposite end."

"Sounds like quite a story ---"

"Gotta go, Susan.  I think my muse just walked in the door!"