The Alchemist - audiobook with subtitles

the alchemist by paulo qualio the boy's name was santiago dusk was falling as the boy arrived with his herd as an abandoned church the roof had fallen in long ago and an enormous sycamore had grown on the spot where the sacristy had once stood he decided to spend the night there he saw to it that all the sheep entered through the ruined gate and then laid some planks across it to prevent the flock from wandering away during the night there were no wolves in the region but once an animal had strayed during the night and the boy had had to spend the entire next day searching for it he swept the floor with his jacket and lay down using the book he had just finished reading as a pillow he told himself that he'd have to start reading thicker books they lasted longer and made more comfortable pillows it was still dark when he awoke and looking up he could see the stars through the half-destroyed roof i wanted to sleep a little longer he thought he had had the same dream that night as a week ago and once again he had awakened before it ended he arose and taking up his crook began to awaken the sheep that still slept he'd noticed that as soon as he awoke most of his animals also began to stir it was as if some mysterious energy bound his life to that of the sheep with whom he had spent the past two years leading them through the countryside in search of food and water they're so used to me that they know my schedule he muttered thinking about that for a moment he realized that it could be the other way round that it was he who had become accustomed to their schedule but there were certain of them who took a bit longer to awaken the boy prodded them one by one with his crook calling each by name he always believed that the sheep were able to understand what he said so there were times when he read them parts of his books that had made an impression on him or when he would tell them of the loneliness or the happiness of a shepherd in the fields sometimes he would comment to them on the things he had seen in the villages they passed but for the past few days he'd spoken to them only about one thing the girl the daughter of a merchant who lived in the village they would reach in about four days he'd been to the village only once the year before the merchant was the proprietor of a dry goods shop and he always demanded that the sheep be sheared in his presence so that he would not be cheated a friend had told the boy about the shop and he'd taken his sheep there i need to sell some wool the boy told the merchant the shop was busy and the man asked the shepherd to wait until the afternoon so the boy sat on the steps of the shop and took a book from his bag i didn't know shepherds knew how to read said a girl's voice behind him the girl was typical of the region of andalusia with flowing black hair and eyes that vaguely recalled the moorish conquerors well usually i learn more from my sheep than from books he answered during the two hours that they talked she told him she was the merchant's daughter and spoke of life in the village where each day was like all the others the shepherd told her of the andalusian countryside and related the news from the other towns where he had stopped it was a pleasant change from talking to his sheep how did you learn to read the girl asked at one point like everybody learns he said in school well if you know how to read why are you just the shepherd the boy mumbled an answer that allowed him to avoid responding to her question he was sure the girl would never understand he went on telling stories about his travels and her bright moorish eyes went wide with fear and surprise as the time passed the boy found himself wishing that the day would never end that her father would stay busy and keep him waiting for three days he recognized that he was feeling something he had never experienced before the desire to live in one place forever with the girl with the raven hell his days would never be the same again but finally the merchant appeared and asked the boy to share four sheep he paid for the wool and asked the shepherd to come back the following year and now it was only four days before he would be back in that same village he was excited and at the same time uneasy maybe the girl had already forgotten him lots of shepherds passed through selling their wool it doesn't matter he said to his sheep i know other girls in other places but in his heart he knew that it did matter and he knew that shepherds like seaman and like travelling salesmen always found a town where there was someone who could make them forget the joys of carefree wandering the day was dawning and the shepherd urged his sheep in the direction of the sun they never have to make any decisions he thought maybe that's why they always stay close to me the only things that concerned the sheep were food and water as long as the boy knew how to find the best pastures in andalusia they would be his friends yes their days were all the same with the seemingly endless hours between sunrise and dusk and they'd never read a book in their young lives and didn't understand when the boy told them about the sights of the cities they were content with just food and water and in exchange they generously gave of their wool their company and once in a while their meat if i became a monster today and decided to kill them one by one they would become aware only after most of the flock had been slaughtered thought the boy they trust me and they've forgotten how to rely on their own instincts because i lead them to nourishment the boy was surprised at his thoughts maybe the church with the sycamore growing from within had been haunted it had caused him to have the same dream for a second time and it was causing him to feel anger towards his faithful companions he drank a bit from the wine that remained from his dinner of the night before and he gathered his jacket closer to his body he knew that a few hours from now with the sun at its zenith the heat would be so great that he would not be able to lead his flock across the fields it was the time of day when all of spain slept during the summer the heat lasted until nightfall and all that time he had to carry his jacket but when he thought to complain about the burden of its weight he remembered that because he had the jacket he had withstood the cold of the dawn we have to be prepared for change he thought and he was grateful for the jacket's weight and warmth the jacket had a purpose and so did the boy his purpose in life was to travel and after two years of walking the andalusian terrain he knew all the cities of the region he was planning on this visit to explain to the girl how it was that a simple shepherd knew how to read that he had attended a seminary until he was 16 his parents had wanted him to become a priest and thereby a source of pride for a simple farm family they had worked hard just to have food and water like the sheep he had studied latin spanish and theology but ever since he had been a child he'd wanted to know the world and this was much more important to him than knowing god and learning about man's sins one afternoon on a visit to his family he had summoned up the courage to tell his father that he didn't want to become a priest that he wanted to travel people from all over the world have passed through this village son said his father they come in search of new things but when they leave they're basically the same people they were when they arrived they climbed the mountain to see the castle and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now they have blonde hair or dark skin but basically they're the same as the people who live right here but i'd like to see the castles in the towns where they live the boy explained those people when they see our land say they would like to live here forever his father continued well i'd like to see their land and see how they live said his son people who come here have a lot of money to spend so they can afford to travel his father said amongst us the only ones who travel are the shepherds well then i'll be a shepherd his father said no more the next day he gave his son a pouch that held three ancient spanish gold coins i found these one day in the fields i wanted them to be a part of your inheritance but use them to buy your flock take to the fields and someday you'll learn that our countryside is the best and our women the most beautiful and he gave the boy his blessing the boy could see in his father's gaze a desire to be able himself to travel the world a desire that was still alive despite his father's having had to bury it over dozens of years under the burden of struggling for water to drink food to eat and the same place to sleep every night of his life the horizon was tinged with red and suddenly the sun appeared the boy thought back to that conversation with his father and felt happy he had already seen many castles and met many women but none the equal of the one who awaited him several days hence he owned a jacket a book that he could trade for another and a flock of sheep but most important he was able every day to live out his dream if he were to tire of the andalusian fields he could sell his sheep and go to sea by the time he had had enough of the sea he would already have known other cities other women and other chances to be happy i couldn't have found god in the seminary he thought as he looked at the sunrise whenever he could he sought out a new road to travel he had never been to that ruined church before in spite of having traveled through those parts many times the world was huge and inexhaustible he had only to allow his sheep to set the route for a while and he would discover other interesting things the problem is that they don't even realize that they're walking a new road every day they don't see that the fields are new and the seasons change all they think about is food and water maybe we're all that way the boy mused even me i hadn't thought of other women since i met the merchant's daughter looking at the sun he calculated that he would reach tarifa before midday there he could exchange his book for a thicker one fill his wine bottle shave and have a haircut he had to prepare himself for his meeting with the girl and he didn't want to think about the possibility that some other shepherd with a larger flock of sheep had arrived there before him and asked for her hand it's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting he thought as he looked again at the position of the sun and hurried his pace he had suddenly remembered that in tarifa there was an old woman who interpreted dreams the old woman led the boy to a room at the back of her house it was separated from her living room by a curtain of coloured beads the room's furnishings consisted of a table an image of the sacred heart of jesus and two chairs the woman sat down and told him to be seated as well then she took both of his hands in hers and began quietly to pray it sounded like a gypsy prayer the boy had already had experience on the road with gypsies they also traveled but they had no flocks of sheep people said that gypsies spent their lives tricking others it was also said that they had a pact with the devil and that they kidnapped children and taking them away to their mysterious camps made them their slaves as a child the boy had always been frightened to death that he would be captured by gypsies and this childhood fear returned when the old woman took his hands in hers but she has the sacred heart of jesus there he thought trying to reassure himself he didn't want his hand to begin trembling showing the old woman that he was fearful he recited in our father silently very interesting said the woman never taking her eyes from the boy's hands and then she fell silent the boy was becoming nervous his hands began to tremble and the woman sensed it he quickly pulled his hands away i didn't come here to have you read my palm he said already regressing having come he thought for a moment that it would be better to pay her fee and leave without learning a thing that he was giving too much importance to his recurrent dream you came so you could learn about your dreams said the old woman and dreams are the language of god when he speaks in our language i can interpret what he has said but if he speaks in the language of the soul it is only you who can understand but whichever it is i'm going to charge you for the consultation another trick the boy thought but he decided to take a chance a shepherd always takes his chances with wolves and with drought and that's what makes a shepherd's life exciting had the same dream twice he said i dreamed that i was in a field with my sheep when a child appeared and began to play with the animals i don't like people to do that because the sheep are afraid of strangers but children always seem to be able to play with them without frightening them i don't know why i don't know how animals know the age of human beings tell me more about your dream said the woman i have to get back to my cooking and since you don't have much money i can't give you a lot of time well the child went on playing with my sheep for quite a while continued the boy a bit upset and suddenly the child took me by both hands and transported me to the egyptian pyramids he paused for a moment to see if the woman knew what the egyptian pyramids were but she said nothing then at the egyptian pyramids he said the last three words slowly so that the old woman would understand the child said to me if you come here you will find a hidden treasure and just as she was about to show me the exact location i woke up both times the woman was silent for some time then she again took his hands and studied them carefully i'm not going to charge you anything now she said but i want one tenth of the treasure if you find it the boy laughed out of happiness he was going to be able to save the little money he had because of a dream about hidden treasure well interpret the dream he said first swear to me swear you will give me one tenth of your treasure in exchange for what i'm going to tell you the shepherd swore that he would the old woman asked him to swear again while looking at the image of the sacred heart of jesus it's a dream in the language of the world she said i can interpret it but the interpretation is very difficult that's why i feel that i deserve a part of what you find and this is my interpretation you must go to the pyramids in egypt i have never heard of them but if it was a child who showed them to you they exist there you will find a treasure that will make you a rich man the boy was surprised and then irritated he didn't need to seek out the old woman for this but then he remembered that he wasn't going to have to pay anything i didn't need to waste my time just for this he said i told you that your dream was a difficult one it's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary only wise men are able to understand them and since i am not wise i have had to learn other arts such as the reading of palms well how am i going to get to egypt i only interpret dreams i don't know how to turn them into reality that's why i have to live off what my daughters provide me with and what if i never get to egypt then i don't get paid it wouldn't be the first time and the woman told the boy to leave saying she'd already wasted too much time with him so the boy was disappointed he decided he would never again believe in dreams he remembered that he had a number of things he had to take care of he went to the market for something to eat he traded his book for one that was thicker and he found a bench in the plaza where he could sample the new wine he had bought the day was hot and the wine was refreshing the sheep were at the gates of the city in a stable that belonged to a friend the boy knew a lot of people in the city that was what made travelling appeal to him he always made new friends and he didn't need to spend all of his time with them when someone sees the same people every day as had happened with him in the seminary they wind up becoming a part of that person's life and then they want the person to change if someone isn't what others want them to be the others become angry everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives but none about his or her own he decided to wait until the sun had sunk a bit lower in the sky before following his flock back through the fields three days from now he would be with the merchant's daughter he started to read the book he had bought on the very first page it described the burial ceremony and the names of the people involved were very difficult to pronounce if he ever wrote a book he thought he would present one person at a time so that the reader wouldn't have to worry about memorizing a lot of names when he was finally able to concentrate on what he was reading he liked the book better the burial was on a snowy day and he welcomed the feeling of being cold as he read on an old man sat down at his side and tried to strike up a conversation what are they doing the old man asked pointing at the people in the plaza working the boy answered dryly making it look as if he wanted to concentrate on his reading actually he was thinking about sharing his sheep in front of the merchant's daughter so that she could see that he was someone who was capable of doing difficult things he had already imagined the scene many times every time the girl became fascinated when he explained that the sheep had to be sheared from back to front he also tried to remember some good stories to relate as he shared his sheep most of them he had read in books but he would tell them as if they were from his personal experience she would never know the difference because she didn't know how to read meanwhile the old man persisted in his attempt to strike up a conversation he said he was tired and thirsty and asked if he might have a sip of the boy's wine the boy offered his bottle hoping that the old man would leave him alone but the old man wanted to talk and he asked the boy what book he was reading the boy was tempted to be rude and moved to another bench but his father had taught him to be respectful of the elderly so he held out the book to the man for two reasons first that he himself wasn't sure how to pronounce the title and second that if the old man didn't know how to read he would probably feel ashamed and decide of his own accord to change benches hmm said the old man looking at all sides of the book as if it was some strange object this is an important book but it's really irritating the boy was shocked the old man knew how to read and had already read the book and if the book was irritating as the old man had said the boy still had time to change it for another it's a book that says the same thing almost all the other books in the world say continue the old man it describes people's inability to choose their own personal legends and it ends up saying that everyone believes the world's greatest lie what's the world's greatest lie the boy asked completely surprised it's this that at a certain point in our lives we lose control of what's happening to us and our lives become controlled by fate that's the world's greatest lie that's never happened to me the boy said they wanted me to be a priest but i decided to become a shepherd much better said the old man because you really like to travel he knew what i was thinking the boy said to himself the old man meanwhile was leafing through the book without seeming to want to return it at all the boy noticed that the man's clothing was strange he looked like an arab which was not unusual in those parts africa was only a few hours from tarifa one only had to cross the narrow straits by boat arabs often appeared in the city shopping and chanting their strange prayers several times a day where are you from the boy asked from many places no one can be from many places the boy said i'm a shepherd and i've been to many places but i come from only one place from a city near an ancient castle that's where i was born well then we could say that i was born in salem the boy didn't know where salem was but he didn't want to ask fearing that he would appear ignorant he looked at the people in the plaza for a while they were coming and going and all of them seemed to be very busy so what is salem like he asked trying to get some sort of clue it's like it always has been no clue yet but he knew that salem wasn't in andalusia if it were he would already have heard of it and um what you do in salem he insisted what do i do in salem the old man laughed well i'm the king of salem people say strange things the boy thought sometimes it's better to be with the sheep who don't say anything and better still to be alone with one's books they tell their incredible stories at the time when you want to hear them but when you're talking to people they say some things that are so strange that you don't know how to continue the conversation my name is melchizedek said the old man how many sheep do you have enough said the boy he could see that the old man wanted to know more about his life well then we've got a problem i can't help you if you feel you've got enough sheep the boy was getting irritated he wasn't asking for help it was the old man who had asked for a drink of his wine and started the conversation give me my book the boy said i have to go and gather my sheep and get going give me one tenth of your sheep said the old man and i'll tell you how to find the hidden treasure the boy remembered his dream and suddenly everything was clear to him the old woman hadn't charged him anything but the old man maybe he was her husband was going to find a way to get much more money in exchange for information about something that didn't even exist the old man was probably a gypsy too but before the boy could say anything the old man leaned over picked up a stick and began to write in the sand of the plaza something bright reflected from his chest with such intensity that the boy was momentarily blinded with a movement that was too quick for someone of his age the man covered what it was with his cape when his vision returned to normal the boy was able to read what the old man had written in the sand there in the sand of the plaza of that small city the boy reads the names of his father and his mother and the name of the seminary he had attended he read the name of the merchant's daughter which he hadn't even known and he read things he had never told anyone i'm the king of salem the old man had said why would a king be talking with the shepherd the boy asked ored and embarrassed for several reasons but let's say the most important is that you have succeeded in discovering your personal legend the boy didn't know what a person's personal legend was it's what you have always wanted to accomplish everyone when they are young knows what their personal legend is at that point in their lives everything is clear and everything is possible they are not afraid to dream and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives but as time passes a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their personal legend none of what the old man was saying made much sense to the boy but he wanted to know what the mysterious force was the merchant's daughter would be impressed when he told her about that it's a force that appears to be negative but actually shows you how to realize your personal legend it prepares your spirit and your will because there is one great truth on this planet whoever you are or whatever it is that you do when you really want something it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe it's your mission on earth even when all you want to do is travel or marry the daughter of a textile merchant yes or even search for treasure the soul of the world is nourished by people's happiness and also by unhappiness envy and jealousy to realize one's personal legend is a person's only real obligation all things are one and when you want something all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it they were both silent for a time observing the plaza and the townspeople it was the old man who spoke first why do you tend the flock of sheep because i like to travel the old man pointed to a baker standing in his shop window at one corner of the plaza when he was a child that man wanted to travel too but he decided first to buy his bakery and put some money aside when he's an old man he's going to spend a month in africa he never realized that people are capable at any time of their lives of doing what they dream of he should have decided to become a shepherd the boy said well he thought about that the old man said but bakers are more important people than shepherds bakers have homes while shepherds sleep out in the open parents would rather see their children marry bakers than shepherds the boy felt a pang in his heart thinking about the merchant's daughter there was surely a baker in her town the old man continued in the long run what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own personal legends the old man leafed through the book and fell to reading a page he came to the boy waited and then interrupted the old man just as he himself had been interrupted why are you telling me all this because you are trying to realize your personal legend and you are at the point where you are about to give it all up and that's when you always appear on the scene not always this way but i always appear in one form or another sometimes i appear in the form of a solution or a good idea at other times at the crucial moment i make it easier for things to happen there are other things i do too but most of the time people don't realize i've done them the old man related that the week before he'd been forced to appear before a minor and had taken the form of a stone the miner had abandoned everything to go mining for emeralds for five years he had been working a certain river and had examined hundreds of thousands of stones looking for an emerald the miner was about to give it all up right at the point when if he were to examine just one more stone just one more he would find his emerald since the miner had sacrificed everything to his personal legend the old man decided to become involved he transformed himself into a stone that rolled up to the miners foot the miner with all the anger and frustration of his five fruitless years picked up the stone and threw it aside but he had thrown it with such force that it broke the stone it fell upon and there embedded in the broken stone was the most beautiful emerald in the world people learn early in their lives what is their reason for being said the old man with a certain bitterness maybe that's why they give up on it so early too but that's the way it is the boy reminded the old man that he had said something about hidden treasure treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water and it is buried by the same current said the old man if you want to learn about your own treasure you will have to give me one tenth of your flock what about one tenth of my treasure the old man looked disappointed if you start out by promising what you don't even have yet you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it the boy told him that he'd already promised to give one tenth of his treasure to the gypsy gypsies experts are getting people to do that side the old man in any case it's good that you've learned that everything in life has its price that is what the warriors of the light try to teach the old man returned the book to the boy tomorrow at this same time bring me a tenth of your flock and i will tell you how to find the hidden treasure good afternoon and he vanished around the corner of the plaza the boy began again to read his book but he was no longer able to concentrate he was tense and upset because he knew that the old man was right he went over to the bakery and bought a loaf of bread thinking about whether or not he should tell the baker what the old man had said about him sometimes it's better to leave things as they are he thought to himself and decided to say nothing if he were to say anything the baker would spend three days thinking about giving it all up even though he had gotten used to the way things were the boy could certainly resist causing that kind of anxiety for the baker so he began to wander through the city and found himself at the gates there was a small building there with a window at which people bought tickets to africa and he knew that egypt was in africa can i help you ask the man behind the window maybe tomorrow said the boy moving away if he sold just one of his sheep he'd have enough to get to the other shore of the strait the idea frightened him another dreamer said the ticket seller to his assistant watching the boy walk away he doesn't have enough money to travel while standing at the ticket window the boy had remembered his flock and decided that he should go back to being a shepherd in two years he had learned everything about shepherding he knew how to share sheep how to care for pregnant use and how to protect the sheep from wolves he knew all the fields and pastures of andalusia and he knew what was the fair price for every one of his animals he decided to return to his friend's stable by the longest route possible as he walked past the city's castle he interrupted his return and climbed the stone ramp that led to the top of the wall from there he could see africa in the distance somewhere once told him that it was from there that the moors had come to occupy all of spain he could see almost the entire city from where he sat including the plaza where he had talked with the old man cursed the moment i met that old man he thought he had come to the town only to find a woman who could interpret his dream neither the woman nor the old man were at all impressed by the fact that he was a shepherd they were solitary individuals who no longer believed in things and didn't understand that shepherds become attached to their sheep he knew everything about each member of his flock he knew which ones were lame which ones were to give birth two months from now and which were the laziest he knew how to shear them how to slaughter them if he ever decided to leave them they would suffer the wind began to pick up he knew that wind people called it the levanta because on it the moors had come from the levant at the eastern end of the mediterranean the levanta increased in intensity here i am between my flock and my treasure the boy thought he had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have there was also the merchant's daughter but she wasn't as important as his flock because she didn't depend on him maybe she didn't even remember him he was sure that it made no difference to her on which day he appeared for her every day was the same and when each day is the same as the next it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day the sun rises i left my father my mother and the town castle behind they've gotten used to my being away and so have i the sheep will get used to my not being there too the boy thought from where he sat he could observe the plaza people continued to come and go from the baker's shop a young couple sat on the bench where he had talked with the old man and they kissed that baker he said to himself without completing the thought the levanta was still getting stronger and he felt its force on his face that wind had brought the moors yes but it had also brought the smell of the desert and the veiled women it had brought with it the sweat and the dreams of men who had once left to search for the unknown and for gold and adventure and for the pyramids the boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind and saw that he could have the same freedom there was nothing to hold him back except himself the sheep the merchant's daughter and the fields of andalusia were only steps along the way to his personal legend the next day the boy met the old man at noon he brought six sheep with him i'm surprised the boy said my friend bought all the other sheep immediately he said that he'd always dreamed of being a shepherd and that it was a good omen that's the way it always is said the old man it's called the principle of favorability when you play cards the first time you're almost sure to win beginners luck why is that because there's a force that wants you to realize your personal legend it wets your appetite with a taste of success then the old man began to inspect the sheep and he saw that one was lame the boy explained that it wasn't important since that sheep was the most intelligent of the flock and produced the most wool where is the treasure he asked it's in egypt near the pyramids the boy was startled the old woman had said the same thing but she hadn't charged him anything in order to find the treasure you will have to follow the omens god has prepared a path for everyone to follow you just have to read the omens that he left for you before the boy could reply a butterfly appeared and fluttered between him and the old man he remembered something his grandfather had once told him that butterflies were a good omen like crickets and like expectations like lizards and four-leaf clovers that's right said the old man able to read the boy's thoughts just as your grandfather taught you these are good omens the old man opened his cape and the boy was struck by what he saw the old man wore a breastplate of heavy gold covered with precious stones the boy recalled the brilliance he had noticed on the previous day he really was a king he must be disguised to avoid encounters with thieves take these said the old man holding out a white stone and a black stone that had been embedded at the center of the breastplate they are called urem and tsumeem the black signifies yes the white no when you are unable to read the omens they will help you to do so always ask an objective question but if you can try to make your own decisions the treasure is at the pyramids that you already know but i had to insist on the payment of six sheep because i helped you make the decision the boy put the stones in his pouch from then on he would make his own decisions don't forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else and don't forget the language of omens and above all don't forget to follow your personal legend through to his conclusion but before you go i want to tell you a little story a certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world the lad wandered through the desert for 40 days and finally came upon a beautiful castle high atop a mountain it was there that the wise man lived rather than finding a saintly man though our hero on entering the main room of the castle saw a hive of activity tradesmen came and went people were conversing in the corners a small orchestra was playing soft music and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world the wise man conversed with everyone and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention the wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why had come but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness he suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours meanwhile i want to ask you to do something said the wise man handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil as you wander around carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill the boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon after two hours he returned to the room where the wise man was well asked the wise man did you see the persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall did you see the garden that he took the master gardener ten years to create did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library the boy was embarrassed and confessed that he had observed nothing his only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him then go back and observe the marvels of my world said the wise man you cannot trust a man if you don't know his house relieved the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace this time observing all the works of art on the ceilings and the walls he saw the gardens the mountains all around him the beauty of the flowers and the taste with which everything had been selected upon returning to the wise man he related in detail everything he had seen but where are the drops of oil i entrusted to you asked the wise man looking down at the spoon he held the boy saw that the oil was gone well there is only one piece of advice i can give you said the wisest of wise men the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon the shepherd said nothing he had understood the story the old king had told him a shepherd may like to travel but he should never forget about his sheep the old man looked at the boy and with his hands held together made several strange gestures over the boy's head then taking his sheep he walked away at the highest point in tarifa there's an old fort built by the moors from atop its walls one can catch a glimpse of africa melchizedek the king of salem sat on the wall of the fort that afternoon and felt the levanta blowing in his face the sheep fidgeted nearby uneasy with their new owner and excited by so much change all they wanted was food and water melchizedek watched a small ship that was plowing its way out of the port he would never again see the boy just as he had never seen abraham again after having charged him his one-tenth fee that was his work the gods should not have desires because they don't have personal legends but the king of salem hoped desperately that the boy would be successful it's too bad that he's quickly going to forget my name he thought i should have repeated it to him then when he spoke about me he would say that i am melchizedek the king of salem he looked to the skies feeling a bit abashed and said i know it's the vanity of vanities as you said my lord but an old king sometimes has to take some pride in himself how strange africa is thought the boy he was sitting in a bar very much like the other bars he had seen along the narrow streets of tangier some men were smoking from a gigantic pipe that they passed from one to the other in just a few hours he had seen men walking hand in hand women with their faces covered and priests that climbed to the tops of towers and chanted and everyone about him went to their knees and placed their foreheads on the ground a practice of infidels he said to himself as a child in church he had always looked at the image of saint santiago matamoros on his white horse his sword unsheathed and figures such as these kneeling at his feet the boy felt ill and terribly alone the infidels had an evil look about them besides this in the rush of his travels he had forgotten the detail just one detail which could keep him from his treasure for a long time only arabic was spoken in this country the owner of the bar approached him and the boy pointed to a drink that had been served at the next table it turned out to be a bitter tea the boy preferred wine but he didn't need to worry about that right now what he had to be concerned about was his treasure and how he was going to go about getting it the sale of his sheep had left him with enough money in his pouch and the boy knew that in money there was magic whoever has money is never really alone before long maybe in just a few days he would be at the pyramids an old man with a breastplate of gold wouldn't have lied just to acquire sick sheep the old man had spoken about signs and omens and as the boy was crossing the strait he'd thought about omens yes the old man had known what he was talking about during the time the boy had spent in the fields of andalusia he had become used to learning which path he should take by observing the ground and the sky he had discovered that the presence of a certain bird meant that a snake was nearby and that a certain shrub was a sign that there was water in the area the sheep had taught him that if god leads the sheep so well he will also lead a man he thought and that made him feel better the tea seemed less bitter who are you he heard a voice ask him in spanish the boy was relieved he was thinking about omens and someone had appeared how come you speak spanish he asked the new arrival was a young man in western dress but the color of his skin suggested he was from this city he was about the same age and height as the boy almost everyone here speaks spanish we're only two hours from spain sit down let me treat you to something said the boy i'd ask for a glass of wine for me i hate this tea there is no wine in this country the young man said the religion here forbids it the boy told him that he needed to get to the pyramids he almost began to tell about his treasure but decided not to do so if he did it was possible that the arab would want a part of it as payment for taking him there he remembered what the old man had said about offering something you didn't even have yet i'd like you to take me there if you can i can pay you to serve as my guide do you have any idea how to get there the newcomer asked the boy noticed that the owner of the bar stood nearby listening attentively to their conversation he felt uneasy at the man's presence but he had found a guide and didn't want to miss out on an opportunity you have to cross the entire sahara desert said the young man and to do that you need money i need to know whether you have enough the boy thought it was a strange question but he trusted in the old man who had said that when you really want something the universe always conspires in your favor he took his money from his pouch and showed it to the young man the owner of the bar came over and looked as well the two men exchanged some words in arabic and the bar owner seemed irritated let's get out of here said the new arrival he wants us to leave the boy was relieved he got up to pay the bill but the owner grabbed him and began to speak to him in an angry stream of words the boy was strong and wanted to retaliate but he was in a foreign country his new friend pushed the owner aside and pulled the boy outside with him he wanted your money he said tangier is not like the rest of africa this is a port and every port has its thieves the boy trusted his new friend he had helped him out in a dangerous situation he took out his money and counted it we could get to the pyramids by tomorrow said the other taking the money but i have to buy two camels they walked together through the narrow streets of tangier everywhere there were stalls with items for sale they reached the center of a large plaza where the market was held there were thousands of people there arguing selling and buying vegetables for sale amongst daggers and carpets displayed alongside tobacco but the boy never took his eye off his new friend after all he had all his money he thought about asking him to give it back but decided that that would be unfriendly he knew nothing about the customs of the strange land he was in i'll just watch him he said to himself he knew he was stronger than his friend suddenly there in the midst of all that confusion he saw the most beautiful sword he had ever seen the scabbard was embossed in silver and the handle was black and encrusted with precious stones the boy promised himself that when he returned from egypt he would buy that sword ask the owner of that stall how much the sword costs he said to his friend then he realized that he'd been distracted for a few moments looking at the sword his heart squeezed as if his chest suddenly compressed it he was afraid to look around because he knew what he would find he continued to look at the beautiful sword for a bit longer until he summoned the courage to turn around all around him was the market with people coming and going shouting and buying and the aroma of strange foods but nowhere could he find his new companion the boy wanted to believe that his friend had simply become separated from him by accident he decided to stay right there and await his return as he waited a priest climbed to the top of a nearby tower and began his chant everyone in the market fell to their knees touched their foreheads to the ground and took up the chant then like a colony of worker ants they dismantled their stalls and left the sun began its departure as well the boy watched it through its trajectory for some time until it was hidden behind the white houses surrounding the plaza he recalled that when the sun had risen that morning he was on another continent still a shepherd with 60 sheep and looking forward to meeting with a girl that morning he had known everything that was going to happen to him as he walked through the familiar fields but now as the sun began to set he was in a different country a stranger in a strange land where he couldn't even speak the language he was no longer a shepherd and he had nothing not even the money to return and start everything over all this had happened between sunrise and sunset the boy thought he was feeling sorry for himself and lamenting the fact that his life could have changed so suddenly and so drastically he was so ashamed that he wanted to cry he'd never even wept in front of his own sheep but the marketplace was empty and he was far from home so he wept he wept because god was unfair and because this was the way god repaid those who believed in their dreams when i had my sheep i was happy and i made those around me happy people saw me coming and welcomed me he thought but now i'm sad and alone i'm going to become bitter and distrustful of people because one person betrayed me i'm going to hate those who have found their treasure because i never found mine and i'm going to hold on to what little i have because i'm too insignificant to conquer the world he opened his pouch to see what was left of his possessions maybe there was a bit left of the sandwich he'd eaten on the ship but all he found was the heavy book his jacket and the two stones the old man had given him as he looked at the stones he felt relieved for some reason he had exchanged six sheep for two precious stones that had been taken from a gold breastplate he could sell the stones and buy a return ticket but this time i'll be smarter the boy thought removing them from the pouch so he could put them in his pocket this was a port town and the only truthful thing his friend had told him was that port towns are full of thieves now he understood why the owner of the bar had been so upset he was trying to tell him not to trust that man i'm like everyone else i see the world in terms of what i would like to see happen not what actually does he ran his fingers slowly over the stones sensing their temperature and feeling their surfaces they were his treasure just handling them made him feel better they reminded him of the old man when you want something all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it he had said the boy was trying to understand the truth of what the old man had said there he was in the empty marketplace without ascent to his name and with not a sheep to guard through the night but the stones were proof that he had met with a king a king who knew of the boy's past they're called urem and and they can help you to read the omens the boy put the stones back in the pouch and decided to do an experiment the old man said to ask very clear questions and to do that the boy had to know what he wanted so he asked if the old man's blessing was still with him he took out one of the stones it was yes am i going to find my treasure he asked he stuck his hand into the pouch and he felt around for one of the stones as he did so both of them pushed through a hole in the pouch and fell to the ground the boy had never even noticed that there was a hole in his pouch he knelt down to find urem and thumeme and put them back in the pouch but as he saw them lying there on the ground another phrase came to his mind learn to recognize omens and follow them the old king had said an omen the boy smiled to himself he picked up the two stones and put them back in his pouch he didn't consider mending the hole the stones could fall through any time they wanted he had learned that there were certain things one shouldn't ask about so as not to flee from one's own personal legend i promised that i would make my own decisions he said to himself but the stones had told him that the old man was still with him and that made him feel more confident he looked around at the empty plaza again feeling less desperate than before this wasn't a strange place it was a new one after all what he had always wanted was just that to know new places even if he never got to the pyramids he'd already traveled farther than any shepherd he knew oh if only they knew how different things are just two hours by ship from where they are he thought although his new world at the moment was just an empty marketplace he had already seen it when it was teeming with life and he would never forget it he remembered the sword it hurt him a bit to think about it but he'd never seen one like it before as he mused about these things he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure i'm an adventurer looking for treasure he said to himself he was shaken into wakefulness by someone he'd fallen asleep in the middle of the marketplace and life in the plaza was about to resume looking around he sought his sheep and then realized that he was in a new world but instead of being saddened he was happy he no longer had to seek out food and water for the sheep he could go in search of his treasure instead he had not a scent in his pocket but he had faith he had decided the night before that he would be as much an adventurer as the ones he had admired in books he walked slowly through the marketplace the merchants were assembling their stalls and the boy helped a candy seller to do his the candy seller had a smile on his face he was happy aware of what his life was about and ready to begin a day's work his smile reminded the boy of the old man the mysterious old king he had met this candy merchant isn't making candy so that later he can travel or marry a shopkeeper's daughter he's doing it because it's what he wants to do thought the boy he realized that he could do the same thing the old man had done sense whether a person was near to or far from his personal legend just by looking at them it's easy and yet i've never done it before he thought when the stall was assembled the candy seller offered the boy the first sweet he had made for the day the boy thanked him ate it and went on his way when he'd gone only a short distance he realized that while they were erecting the stall one of them had spoken arabic and the other spanish and they had understood each other perfectly well there must be a language that doesn't depend on words the boy thought i've already had that experience with my sheep and now it's happening with people he was learning a lot of new things some of them were things that he had already experienced and weren't really new but that he had never perceived before and he hadn't perceived them because he had become accustomed to them he realized if i can learn to understand this language without words i can learn to understand the world relaxed and unhurried he resolved that he would walk through the narrow streets of tangier only in that way would he be able to read the omens he knew it would require a lot of patience but shepherds know all about patience once again he saw that in that strange land he was applying the same lessons he had learned with his sheep all things are one the old man had said the crystal merchant awoke with the day and felt the same anxiety that he felt every morning he had been in the same place for 30 years a shop at the top of a hilly street where few customers passed now it was too late to change anything the only thing he had ever learned to do was to buy and sell crystal glassware there had been a time when many people knew of his shop arab merchants french and english geologists german soldiers who were always well healed in those days it had been wonderful to be selling crystal and he had thought how he would become rich and have beautiful women at his side as he grew older but as time passed tangier had changed the nearby city of suta had grown faster than tangier and business had fallen off neighbours moved away and there remained only a few small shops on the hill and no one was going to climb the hill just to browse through a few small shops but the crystal merchant had no choice he had lived 30 years of his life buying and selling crystal pieces and now it was too late to do anything else he spent the entire morning observing the infrequent comings and goings in the street he had done this for years and knew the schedule of everyone who passed but just before lunchtime a boy stopped in front of the shop he was dressed normally but the practiced eye of the crystal merchant could see that the boy had no money to spend nevertheless the merchant decided to delay his lunch for a few minutes until the boy moved on a card hanging in the doorway announced that several languages were spoken in the shop the boy saw a man appear behind the counter i can clean up those glasses in the window if you want said the boy the way they look now no one's going to want to buy them the man looked at him without responding in exchange you could give me something to eat the man still said nothing and the boy sensed that he was going to have to make a decision in his pouch he had his jacket he certainly wasn't going to need it in the desert taking the jacket out he began to clean the glasses in half an hour he had cleaned all the glasses in the window and as he was doing so two customers had entered the shop and bought some crystal when he had completed the cleaning he asked the man for something to eat let's go and have some lunch said the crystal merchant he put a sign on the door and they went to a small cafe nearby as they sat down at the only table in the place the crystal merchant laughed you didn't have to do any cleaning he said the quran requires me to feed a hungry person well then why did you let me do it the boy asked because the crystal was dirty and both you and i needed to cleanse our minds of negative thoughts when they had eaten the merchant turned to the boy and said i'd like you to work in my shop two customers came in today while you were working and that's a good omen people talk a lot about omens thought the shepherd but they really don't know what they're saying just as i hadn't realized that for so many years i'd been speaking a language without words to my sheep do you want to go to work for me the merchant asked i can work for the rest of today the boy answered i'll work all night until dawn and i'll clean every piece of crystal in your shop in return i need money to get to egypt tomorrow the merchant laughed even if you clean my crystal for an entire year even if you earned a good commission selling every piece you would still have to borrow money to get to egypt there are thousands of kilometers of desert between here and there there was a moment of silence so profound that it seemed the city was asleep no sound from the bazaars no arguments among the merchants no men climbing to the towers to chant no hope no adventure no old kings or personal legends no treasure and no pyramids it was as if the world had fallen silent because the boy's soul had he sat there staring blankly through the door of the cafe wishing that he had died and that everything would end forever at that moment the merchant looked anxiously at the boy all the joy he had seen that morning had suddenly disappeared i can give you the money you need to get back to your country my son said the crystal merchant the boy said nothing he got up adjusted his clothing and picked up his pouch i'll work for you he said and after another long silence he added i need money to buy some sheep the boy had been working for the crystal merchant for almost a month and he could see that it wasn't exactly the kind of job that would make him happy the merchants spent the entire day mumbling behind the counter telling the boy to be careful with the pieces and not to break anything but he stayed with the job because the merchant although he was an old grouch treated him fairly the boy received a good commission for each piece he sold and had already been able to put some money aside that morning he had done some calculating if he continued to work every day as he had been he would need a whole year to be able to buy some sheep i'd like to build a display case for the crystal the boy said to the merchant we could place it outside and attract those people who pass at the bottom of the hill well i've never had one before the merchant answered people will pass by and bump into it and pieces will be broken well when i took my sheep through the fields some of them might have died if we had come upon a snake but that's the way life is with sheep and with shepherds the merchant turned to a customer who wanted three crystal glasses he was selling better than ever as if time had turned back to the old days when the street had been one of tangier's major attractions business has really improved he said to the boy after the customer had left i'm doing much better and soon you'll be able to return to your sheep why ask more out of life because we have to respond to omens the boy said almost without meaning to then he regretted what he had said because the merchant had never met the king it's called the principle of favorability beginner's luck because life wants you to achieve your personal legend the old king had said but the merchant understood what the boy had said the boy's very presence in the shop was an omen and as time passed and money was pouring into the cash draw he had no regrets about having hired the boy the boy was being paid more money than he deserved because the merchant thinking that sales wouldn't amount to much had offered the boy a high commission rate he had assumed he would soon return to his sheep why did you want to get to the pyramids he asked to get away from the business of the display because i've always heard about them the boy answered saying nothing about his dream the treasure was now nothing but a painful memory and he tried to avoid thinking about it i don't know anyone here who would want to cross the desert just to see the pyramid said the merchant they're just a pile of stones you could build one in your own backyard you've never had dreams of travel said the boy turning to wait on a customer who had entered the shop two days later the merchant spoke to the boy about the display i don't much like change he said you and i aren't like hassan that rich merchant if he makes a buying mistake it doesn't affect him much but we too have to live with our mistakes that's true enough the boy thought ruefully why did you think we should have a display i want to get back to my sheep faster we have to take advantage when luck is on our side and do as much to help it as it's doing to help us it's called the principle of favorability or beginner's luck the merchant was silent for a few moments then he said well the prophet gave us the quran and left us just five obligations to satisfy during our lives most important is to believe only in the one true god the others are to pray five times a day fast during ramadan and be charitable to the poor he stopped there his eyes filled with tears as he spoke of the prophet he was a devout man and even with all his impatience he wanted to live his life in accordance with muslim law what's the fifth obligation the boy asked two days ago you said that i had never dreamed of travel the merchant answered the fifth obligation of every muslim is a pilgrimage we are obliged at least once in our lives to visit the holy city of mecca mecca is a lot further away than the pyramids when i was young all i wanted to do was to put together enough money to start this shop i thought that someday i'd be rich and could go to mecca i began to make some money but i could never bring myself to leave someone in charge of the shop the crystals are delicate things at the same time people were passing my shop all the time heading for mecca some of them were rich pilgrims traveling in caravans with servants and camels but most of the people making the pilgrimage were poorer than i all who went there were happy at having done so they placed the symbols of the pilgrimage on the doors of their houses one of them a cobbler who made his living mending boots said that he had traveled almost a year through the desert but that he got more tired when he had to walk through the streets of tangier buying his leather well why don't you go to mecca now ask the boy because it's the thought of mecca that keeps me alive that's what helps me face these days that are all the same these mute crystals on the shelves and lunch and dinner at that same horrible cafe i'm afraid that if my dream is realized i'll have no reason to go on living you dream about your sheep and the pyramids but you're different from me because you want to realize your dreams i just want to dream about mecca i've already imagined a thousand times crossing the desert arriving at the plaza of the sacred stone the seven times i walk around it before allowing myself to touch it i've already imagined the people who would be at my side and those in front of me and the conversations and prayers we would share but i'm afraid that it would all be a disappointment so i prefer just to dream about it that day the merchant gave the boy permission to build the display not everyone could see his dreams come true in the same way two more months passed and the shelf brought many customers into the crystal shop the boy estimated that if he worked for six more months he could return to spain and buy sixty sheep and yet another sixty in less than a year he would have doubled his flock and he would be able to do business with the arabs because he was now able to speak their strange language since that morning in the marketplace he had never again made use of urem and thu meme because egypt was now just as distant a dream for him as was mecca for the merchant anyway the boy had become happy in his work and thought all the time about the day when he would disembark at tarifa as a winner you must always know what it is that you want the old king had said the boy knew and was now working toward it maybe it was his treasure to have wound up in that strange land met up with the thief and doubled the size of his flock without spending a cent he was proud of himself he'd learn some important things like how to deal in crystal and about the language without words and about omens one afternoon he'd seen a man at the top of the hill complaining that it was impossible to find a decent place to get something to drink after such a climb the boy accustomed to recognizing omens spoke to the merchant let's sell tea to the people who climb the hill no lots of places sell tea around here the merchant said but we could sell tea in crystal glasses the people will enjoy the tea and want to buy the glasses i've been told that beauty is the great seducer of men the merchant didn't respond but that afternoon after saying his prayers and closing the shop he invited the boy to sit with him and share his hooker that strange pipe used by the arabs what is it that you're looking for ask the old merchant i've already told you i need to buy my sheep back so i have to earn the money to do so the merchant put some new coals in the hooker and inhaled deeply i've had this shop for 30 years i know good crystal from bad and everything else there is to know about crystal i know its dimensions and how it behaves if we serve tea in crystal the shop is going to expand and then i'll have to change my way of life well isn't that good i'm already used to the way things are before you came i was thinking about how much time i'd wasted in the same place while my friends had moved on and either went bankrupt or did better than they had before it made me very depressed now i can see that it hasn't been too bad the shop is exactly the size i always wanted it to be you know i don't want to change anything because i don't know how to deal with change you see i'm used to the way i am the boy didn't know what to say the old man continued you've been a real blessing to me today i understand something i didn't see before every blessing ignored becomes a curse i don't want anything else in life but you are forcing me to look at wealth and at horizons i've never known now that i've seen them and now that i see how immense my possibilities are i'm going to feel worse than i did before you arrived because i know the things i should be able to accomplish and i don't want to do so it's good i refrain from saying anything to the baker and tarifa thought the boy to himself they went on smoking the pipe for a while as the sun began to set they were conversing in arabic and the boy was proud of himself for being able to do so there had been a time when he thought that his sheep could teach him everything he needed to know about the world but they could never have taught him arabic there are probably other things in the world the sheep can't teach me thought the boy as he regarded the old merchant all they ever do really is look for food and water and maybe it wasn't that they were teaching me but that i was learning from them matube the merchant said finally what does that mean you would have to have been born an arab to understand he answered but in your language it would be something like it is written and as he smothered the coals in the hooker he told the boy that he could begin to sell tea in the crystal glasses sometimes there's just no way to hold back the river the men climbed the hill and they were tired when they reached the top but there they saw a crystal shop that offered refreshing mint tea they went in to drink the tea which was served in beautiful crystal glasses my wife never thought of this said one and he bought some crystal he was entertaining guests that night and the guests will be impressed by the beauty of the glassware the other man remarked that tea was always more delicious when it was served in crystal because the aroma was retained the third said that it was a tradition in the orient to use crystal glasses for tea because it had magical powers before long the news spread and a great many people began to climb the hill to see the shop that was doing something new in a trade that was so old other shops were open that served tea and crystal but they weren't at the top of a hill and they had little business eventually the merchant had to hire two more employees he began to import enormous quantities of tea along with his crystal and his shop was sought out by men and women with a thirst for things new and in that way the months passed the boy awoke before dawn it had been 11 months and nine days since he had first set foot on the african continent he dressed in his arabian clothing of white linen bought especially for this day he put his head cloth in place and secured it with a ring made of camel skin wearing his new sandals he descended the stairs silently the city was still sleeping he prepared himself a sandwich and drank some hot tea from a crystal glass then he sat in the sun-filled doorway smoking the hooker he smoked in silence thinking of nothing and listening to the sound of the wind that brought the scent of the desert when he had finished his smoke he reached into one of his pockets and sat there for a few moments regarding what he had withdrawn it was a bundle of money enough to buy himself 120 sheep a return ticket and a license to import products from africa into his own country he waited patiently for the merchant to awaken and open the shop then the two went off to have some more tea i'm leaving today said the boy i have the money i need to buy my sheep and you have the money you need to go to mecca the old man said nothing will you give me your blessing ask the boy you have helped me the man continued to prepare his tea saying nothing then he turned to the boy i'm proud of you he said you brought a new feeling into my crystal shop but you know that i'm not going to mecca just as you know that you're not going to buy your sheep who told you that asked the boys startled maktub said the old crystal merchant and he gave the boy his blessing the boy went to his room and packed his belongings they filled three sacks as he was leaving he saw in the corner of the room his old shepherd's pouch it was bunched up and he'd hardly thought of it for a long time as he took his jacket out of the pouch thinking to give it to someone in the street the two stones fell to the floor urem and thumim it made the boy think of the old king and it startled him to realize how long it had been since he had thought of him for nearly a year he'd been working incessantly thinking only of putting aside enough money so that he could return to spain with pride never stop dreaming the old king had said follow the omens the boy picked up urem and thumeem and once again had the strange sensation that the old king was nearby he had worked hard for a year and the omens were that it was time to go i'm going to go back to doing just what i did before the boy thought even though the sheep didn't teach me to speak arabic but the sheep had taught him something even more important that there was a language in the world that everyone understood a language the boy had used throughout the time that he was trying to improve things at the shop it was the language of enthusiasm of things accomplished with love and purpose and as part of a search for something believed in and desired tangier was no longer a strange city and he felt that just as he had conquered this place he could conquer the world when you want something all the universe conspires to help you achieve it the old king had said but the old king hadn't said anything about being robbed or about endless deserts or about people who know what their dreams are but they don't want to realize them the old king hadn't told him that the pyramids were just a pile of stones or that anyone could build one in his backyard and he had forgotten to mention that when you have enough money to buy a flock larger than the one you had before you should buy it the boy picked up his pouch and put it with his other things he went down the stairs and found the merchant waiting on a foreign couple while two other customers walked about the shop drinking tea from crystal glasses it was more activity than usual for this time in the morning from where he stood he saw for the first time that the old merchant's hair was very much like the hair of the old king he remembered the smile of the candy cellar on his first day in tangier when he had nothing to eat and nowhere to go that smile had also been like the old king's smile it's almost as if he had been here and left his mark he thought and yet none of these people has ever met the old king on the other hand he said that he always appeared to help those who are trying to realize their personal legend he left without saying goodbye to the crystal merchant he didn't want to cry with the other people there he was going to miss the place and all the good things he'd learned he was more confident in himself though and felt as though he could conquer the world but i'm going back to the fields that i know to take care of my flock again he said that to himself with certainty but he was no longer happy with his decision he had worked for an entire year to make a dream come true and that dream minute by minute was becoming less important maybe because that wasn't really his dream who knows maybe it's better to be like the crystal merchant never go to mecca and just go through life wanting to do so he thought again trying to convince himself but as he held urem and thume in his hand they had transmitted to him the strength and will of the old king by coincidence or maybe it was an omen the boy thought he came to the bar that he had entered on his first day there the thief wasn't there and the owner brought him a cup of tea i can always go back to being a shepherd the boy thought i learned how to care for sheep and i haven't forgotten how that's done but maybe i'll never have another chance to get to the pyramids in egypt the old man wore a breastplate of gold and he knew about my past he really was a king a wise king the hills of andalusia were only two hours away but there was an entire desert between him and the pyramids yet the boy felt that there was another way to regard his situation he was actually two hours closer to his treasure the fact that the two hours have stretched into an entire year didn't matter i know why i want to get back to my flock he thought i understand sheep they're no longer a problem and they can be good friends on the other hand i don't know if the desert can be a friend and it's in the desert that i have to search for my treasure if i don't find it i can always go home i finally have enough money and all the time i need why not he suddenly felt tremendously happy he could always go back to being a shepherd he could always become a crystal salesman again maybe the world had other hidden treasures but he had a dream and he had met with a king that doesn't happen to just anyone he was planning as he left the bar he had remembered that one of the crystal merchants suppliers transported his crystal by means of caravans that cross the desert he held urem and thume in his hand because of these two stones he was once again on the way to his treasure i am always nearby when someone wants to realize their personal legend the old king had told him what could it cost to go over to the suppliers warehouse and find out if the pyramids were really that far away the englishman was sitting on a bench in a structure that smelled of animals sweat and dust it was part warehouse part corral i never thought i'd end up in a place like this he thought as he leafed through the pages of a chemical journal ten years at the university and here i am in a chorale but he had to move on he believed in omens all his life and all his studies were aimed at finding the one true language of the universe first he had studied esperanto then the world's religions and now it was alchemy he knew how to speak esperanto he understood all the major religions well but he wasn't yet an alchemist he had unraveled the truths behind important questions but his studies had taken him to a point beyond which he couldn't seem to go he had tried in vain to establish a relationship with an alchemist but the alchemists were strange people who thought only about themselves and almost always refused to help him who knows maybe they had failed to discover the secret of the masterwork the philosopher's stone and for this reason kept their knowledge to themselves he had already spent much of the fortune left him by his father fruitlessly seeking the philosopher's stone he'd spent enormous amounts of time at the great libraries of the world and purchased all the rarest and most important volumes on alchemy in one he had read that many years ago a famous arabian alchemist had visited europe it was said that he was more than 200 years old and that he had discovered the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life the englishman had been profoundly impressed by the story but he would never have thought it more than just a myth had not a friend of his returning from an archaeological expedition in the desert told him about an arab that was possessed of exceptional powers he lives in the alphauma oasis his friend had said and people say that he's 200 years old and is able to transform any metal into gold the englishman could not contain his excitement he cancelled all his commitments and pulled together the most important of his books and now here he was sitting inside a dusty smelly warehouse outside a huge caravan was being prepared for a crossing of the sahara and was scheduled to pass through al fayoom i'm going to find that damned alchemist the englishman thought and the odour of the animals became a bit more tolerable young arab also loaded down with baggage entered and greeted the englishman where he abound asked the young arab i'm going to the desert the man answered turning back to his reading he didn't want any conversation at this point what he needed to do was to review all he had learned over the years because the alchemist would certainly put him to the test the young arab took out a book and began to read the book was written in spanish that's good thought the englishman he spoke spanish better than arabic and if this boy was going to al-fayum there would be someone to talk to when there was no other important things to do that's strange said the boy as he tried once again to read the burial scene that began the book i've been trying for two years to read this book and i never get past these first few pages even without a king to provide an interruption he was unable to concentrate he still had some doubts about the decision he had made but he was able to understand one thing making a decision was only the beginning of things when someone makes a decision he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision when i decided to seek out my treasure i never imagined that i'd wind up working in a crystal shop he thought and joining this caravan may have been my decision but where it goes is going to be a mystery to me nearby was the englishman reading a book he seemed unfriendly and had looked irritated when the boy had entered they might even have become friends but the englishman closed off the conversation the boy closed his book he felt he didn't want to do anything that might make him look like the englishman he took urim and thumeem from his pocket and began playing with them the stranger shouted ureman tsumim in a flash the boy put them back in his pocket they're not for sale he said they're not worth much the englishman answered they're only made a rock crystal and there are millions of rock crystals in the earth but those who know about such things would know that those are a rim and thumim i didn't know they had them in this part of the world they were given to me as a present by a king the boy said the stranger didn't answer instead he put his hand in his pocket took out two stones that were the same as the boys did you say king he asked i guess you don't believe that a king would talk to someone like me a shepherd he said wanting to end the conversation not at all it was shepherds who were the first to recognize a king that the rest of the world refused to acknowledge so it's not surprising that kings would talk to shepherds and he went on fearing that the boy wouldn't understand what he was talking about it's in the bible the same book that taught me about urea thumim these stones are the only form of divination permitted by god the priest carried them in a golden breastplate the boy was suddenly happy to be there at the warehouse maybe this is an omen said the englishman half allowed who told you about omens the boy's interest was increasing by the moment everything in life is a no man to the englishman now closing the journal he was reading there is a universal language understood by everybody but already forgotten i'm in search of that universal language amongst other things that's why i'm here i have to find a man who knows that universal language an alchemist the conversation was interrupted by the warehouse boss you're in luck you too the fat arab said there's a caravan leaving today for al-fayoum but i'm going to egypt the boy said al-fayoom is in egypt said the arab what kind of arab are you that's a good luck omen the englishman said after the fact i'd ever gone out if i could i'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence it's with those words that the universal language is written he told the boy it was no coincidence that he had met him with you rim and thumb in his hand and he asked the boy if he too were in search of the alchemist i'm looking for a treasure said the boy and he immediately regretted having said it but the englishman appeared not to attach any importance to it in a way so am i he said i don't even know what alchemy is the boy was saying when the warehouse boss called to them to come outside i'm the leader of the caravan said the dark-eyed bearded man i hold the power of life and death for every person i take with me the desert is a capricious lady and sometimes she drives men crazy there were almost 200 people gathered there and 400 animals camels horses mules and fowl in the crowd were women children and a number of men with swords at their belts and rifles slung on their shoulders the englishman had several suitcases filled with books there was a babble of noise and the leader had to repeat himself several times for everyone to understand what he was saying there are a lot of different people here and each has his own god but the only god i serve is allah and in his name i swear that i will do everything possible once again to win out over the desert but i want each and every one of you to swear by the god you believe in that you will follow my orders no matter what in the desert disobedience means death there was a murmur from the crowd each was swearing quietly to his or her own god the boy swore to jesus christ the englishman said nothing and the murmur lasted longer than the simple vow would have the people were also praying to heaven for protection a long note was sounded on a bugle and everyone mounted up the boy and the englishman had bought camels and climbed uncertainly onto their backs the boy felt sorry for the englishman's camel loaded down as he was with the cases of books there's no such thing as coincidence said the englishman picking up the conversation where it had been interrupted in the warehouse i'm here because a friend of mine heard of an arab who but the caravan began to move and it was impossible to hear what the englishman was saying the boy knew what he was about to describe though the mysterious chain that lings one thing to another the same chain that had caused him to become a shepherd that had caused his recurring dream that had brought him to a city near africa to find a king and to be robbed in order to meet a crystal merchant and the closer one gets to realizing his personal legend the more that personal legend becomes his true reason for being thought the boy the caravan moved toward the east it traveled during the morning halted when the sun was at its strongest and resumed late in the afternoon the boy spoke very little with the englishman who spent most of his time with his books the boy observed in silence the progress of the animals and people across the desert now everything was quite different from how it was that day they'd set out then there had been confusion and shouting the cries of children and the winning of animals all mixed with the nervous orders of the guides and the merchants but in the desert there was only the sound of the eternal wind and of the hoof beats of the animals even the guides spoke very little to one another i've crossed these sands many times said one of the camel drivers one night but the desert is so huge and the horizon's so distant that they make a person feel small as if he should remain silent the boy understood intuitively what he meant even without ever having set foot in the desert before whenever he saw the sea or a fire he fell silent impressed by their elemental force i've learned things from the sheep and i've learned things from crystal he thought i can learn something from the desert too it seems old and wise the wind never stopped and the boy remembered the day he had sat at the fort in tarifa with this same wind blowing in his face it reminded him of the wolf from his sheep his sheep who were now seeking food and water in the fields of andalusia as they always had but they're not my sheep anymore he said to himself without nostalgia they must be used to their new shepherd and have probably already forgotten me that's good creatures like the sheep that are used to traveling know about moving on he thought of the merchant's daughter and was sure that she had probably married perhaps to a baker or to another shepherd who could read and could tell her exciting stories after all he probably wasn't the only one but he was excited at his intuitive understanding of the camel driver's comments maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people hunches his mother used to call them the boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life where the histories of all people are connected and we are able to know everything because it's all written there maktube the boy said remembering the crystal merchant the desert was all sand in some stretches and rocky in others when the caravan was blocked by a boulder it had to go around it if there was a large rocky area they had to make a major detour if the sand was too fine for the animal's hooves they sought away where the sand was more substantial in some places the ground was covered with the salt of dried up lakes the animals balked at such places and the camel drivers were forced to dismount and unburden their charges the drivers carried the freight themselves over such treacherous footing and then reloaded the camels if a guide were to fall ill or die the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one but all this happened for one basic reason no matter how many detours and adjustments it made the caravan move toward the same compass point once obstacles were overcome it returned to its course citing on a star that indicated the location of the oasis when the people saw that star shining in the morning sky they knew they were on the right course toward water palm trees shelter and other people it was only the englishman who was unaware of all this he was for the most part immersed in reading his books the boy too had his book and he had tried to read it during the first few days of the journey but he found it much more interesting to observe the caravan and listen to the wind as soon as he had learned to know his camel better and to establish a relationship with him he threw the book away although the boy had developed a superstition that each time he opened the book he would learn something important he decided it was an unnecessary burden he became friendly with the camel driver who traveled alongside him at night as they sat around the fire the boy related to the driver his adventures as a shepherd during one of these conversations the driver told of his own life i used to live near el khairum he said i had my orchard my children and a life that would not change at all until i died one year when the crop was the best ever we all went to mecca and i satisfied the only unmet obligation in my life i could die happily and that made me feel good one day the earth began to tremble and the nile overflowed its banks it was something i thought could only happen to others never to me my neighbors feared they would lose all their olive trees in the flood and my wife was afraid we would lose our children i thought that everything i owned would be destroyed the land was ruined and i had to find some other way to earn a living so now i'm a camel driver but that disaster taught me to understand the word of allah people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want we are afraid of losing what we have whether it's our life or our possessions and property but this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand sometimes their caravan met with another one always had something that the other needed as if everything were indeed written by one hand as they sat around the fire the camel drivers exchanged information about wind storms and told stories about the desert at other times mysterious hooded men would appear they were bedouins who did surveillance along the caravan route they provided warnings about thieves and barbarian tribes they came in silence and departed the same way dressed in black garments that showed only their eyes one night a camel driver came to the fire where the englishman and the boy were sitting there are rumors of tribal wars he told them the three fell silent the boy noted that there was a sense of fear in the air even though no one said anything once again he was experiencing the language without words the universal language the englishman asked if they were in danger once you get into the desert there's no going back said the camel driver and when you can't go back you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward the rest is up to allah including the danger and he concluded by saying the mysterious word magdob you should pay more attention to the caravan the boy said to the englishman after the camel driver had left we make a lot of details but we're always heading for the same destination and you ought to read more about the world answer the englishman books are like caravans in that respect the immense collection of people and animals began to travel faster the days had always been silent but now even the nights when the travelers were accustomed to talking around the fires had also become quiet and one day the leader of the caravan made the decision that the fires should no longer be lighted so as not to attract attention to the caravan the travelers adopted the practice of arranging the animals in a circle at night sleeping together in the center as protection against the nocturnal cold and the leader posted armed sentinels at the fringes of the group the englishman was unable to sleep one night he called to the boy and they took a walk along the dunes surrounding the encampment there was a full moon and the boy told the englishman the story of his life the englishman was fascinated with the part about the progress achieved at the crystal shop after the boy began working there that's the principle that governs all things he said in alchemy it's called the soul of the world when you want something with all your heart that's when you are closest to the soul of the world it's always a positive force he also said that this was not just a human gift that everything on the face of the earth had a soul whether mineral vegetable or animal or even just a simple thought everything on earth is being continuously transformed because the earth is alive and it has a soul we are part of that cell so we really recognize that it is working for us but in the crystal shop you probably realize that even the glasses were collaborating in your success the boy thought about that for a while as he looked at the moon and the bleached sands i've watched the caravan as it crossed the desert he said the caravan and the desert speak the same language and it's for that reason that the desert allows it the crossing it's going to test the caravans every step to see if it's in time and if it is we will make it to the oasis if either of us had joined this caravan based only on personal courage but without understanding that language this journey would have been much more difficult they stood there looking at the moon that's the magic of omens said the boy i've seen how the guides read the signs of the desert and how the soul of the caravan speaks to the soul of the desert the englishman said i'd better pay more attention to the caravan and i'd better read your books said the boy they were strange books they spoke about mercury salt dragons and kings and he didn't understand any of it but there was one idea that seemed to repeat itself throughout all the books all things are the manifestation of one thing only in one of the books he learned that the most important text in the literature of alchemy contained only a few lines and had been inscribed on the surface of an emerald it's the emerald tablet said the englishman proud that he might teach something to the boy well then why do we need all these books the boy asked so that we can understand those few lines the englishman answered without appearing really to believe what he said the book that most interested the boy told the stories of the famous alchemists they were men who had dedicated their entire lives to the purification of metals in their laboratories they believed that if a metal were heated for many years it would free itself of all its individual properties and what was left would be the soul of the world this soul of the world allowed them to understand anything on the face of the earth because it was the language with which all things communicated they called that discovery the master work it was part liquid and part solid can't you just observe men and omens in order to understand the language the boy asked you have a mania for simplifying everything answered the englishman irritated alchemy is a serious discipline every step has to be followed exactly as it was followed by the masters the boy learned that the liquid part of the masterwork was called the elixir of life and that it cured all illnesses it also kept the alchemists from growing old and the solid part was called the philosopher's stone it's not easy to find the philosopher's stone said the englishman the alchemists spent years in their laboratories observing the fire that purified the metals they spent so much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world they discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves the boy thought about the crystal merchant he had said that it was a good thing for the boy to clean the crystal pieces so that he could free himself from negative thoughts the boy was becoming more and more convinced that alchemy could be learned in one's daily life also said the englishman the philosopher's stone has a fascinating property a small sliver of the stone can transform large quantities of metal into gold having heard that the boy came even more interested in alchemy he thought that with some patience he'd be able to transform everything into gold he read the lives of the various people who had succeeded in doing so helvetius elias fulcanelli and gaber they were fascinating stories each of them lived out his personal legend to the end they traveled spoke with wise men performed miracles for the incredulous and owned the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life but when the boy wanted to learn how to achieve the masterwork he became completely lost there were just drawings coded instructions and obscure texts why did they make things so complicated he asked the englishman one night the boy had noticed that the englishman was irritable and missed his books so that those who have the responsibility for understanding can understand he said imagine if everybody went around transforming lead into gold gold would lose its value it's only those who are persistent and willing to study things deeply who achieve the masterwork that's why i'm here in the middle of the desert i'm seeking a true alchemist who will help me to decipher the codes when were these books written the boy asked many centuries ago they didn't have the printing press in those days the boy argued there was no way for everyone to know about alchemy why did they use such strange language with so many drawings the englishman didn't answer him directly he said that for the past few days he had been paying attention to how the caravan operated and that he hadn't learned anything new the only thing he'd noticed was the talk of war was becoming more and more frequent then one day the boy returned the books to the englishman did you learn anything the englishman asked eager to hear what it might be he needed someone to talk to so as to avoid thinking about the possibility of war i learned that the world has a soul and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things i learned that many alchemists realized their personal legends and wound up discovering the soul of the world the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life but above all i learned that these things are all so simple that they could be written on the surface of an emerald the englishman was disappointed the years of research the magic symbols the strange words and the laboratory equipment none of this had made any impression on the boy his soul must be too primitive to understand those things he thought he took back his books and packed them away again in their bags go back to watching the caravan he said that didn't teach me anything either the boy went back to contemplating the silence of the desert and the sand raised by the animals everyone has his or her own way of learning things he said to himself his way isn't the same as mine nor mine is his but we're both in search of our personal legends and i respect him for that the caravan began to travel day and night the hooded bedouins reappeared more and more frequently and the camel driver could become a good friend of the boys explained that the war between the tribes had already begun the caravan would be very lucky to reach the oasis the animals were exhausted and the men talked among themselves less and less the silence was the worst aspect of the night when the mere groan of a camel which before had been nothing but the groan of a camel now frightened everyone because it might signal a raid the camel driver though seemed not to be very concerned with the threat of war i'm alive he said to the boy as they ate a bunch of dates one night with no fires and no moon when i'm eating that's all i think about if i'm on the march i just concentrate on marching if i have to fight it'll be just as good a day to die as any other because i don't live in either my past or my future i'm interested only in the present if you can concentrate always on the present you'll be a happy man you'll see that there is a life in the desert that there are stars in the heavens and the tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race life will be a party for you a grand festival because life is the moment we're living right now two nights later as he was getting ready to bed down the boy look for the star they followed every night he thought that the horizon was a bit lower than it had been because he seemed to see stars on the desert itself it's the oasis said the camel driver well why don't we go there right now the boy asked because we have to sleep the boy awoke as the sun rose there in front of him where the small stars had been the night before was an endless row of date palms stretching across the entire desert we've done it said the englishman who had also awakened early but the boy was quiet he was at home with the silence of the desert and he was content just to look at the trees he still had a long way to go to reach the pyramids and someday this morning would be just a memory but this was the present moment the party the camel driver had mentioned and he wanted to live it as he did the lessons of his past and his dreams of the future although the vision of the date palms would someday be just a memory right now it signified shade water and a refuge from the war yesterday the camel's groan signaled danger and now a row of date palms could herald a miracle the world speaks many languages the boy thought the times rush past and so do the caravans fought the alchemist as he watched the hundreds of people and animals arriving at the oasis people were shouting at the new arrivals dust obscured the desert sun and the children the oasis were bursting with excitement of the arrival of the strangers the alchemists saw the tribal chiefs greet the leader of the caravan and converse with him at length but none of that mattered to the alchemist he'd already seen many people come and go and the desert remained as it was he'd seen kings and beggars walking the desert sands the dunes were changed constantly by the wind yet these were the same sands he had known since he was a child he always enjoyed seeing the happiness that the travelers experienced when after weeks of yellow sand and blue sky they first saw the green of the date palms maybe god created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees he thought he decided to concentrate on more practical matters he knew that in the caravan there was a man to whom he was to teach some of his secrets the omens had told him so he didn't know the man yet but his practiced eye would recognize him when he appeared he hoped that it would be someone as capable as his previous apprentice i don't know why these things have to be transmitted by word of mouth he thought it wasn't exactly that they were secrets god revealed his secrets easily to all his creatures he had only one explanation for this fact things have to be transmitted this way because they were made up from the pure life and this kind of life cannot be captured in pictures or words because people become fascinated with pictures and words and wind up forgetting the language of the world the boy couldn't believe what he was seeing the oasis rather than being just a well surrounded by a few palm trees as he had seen once in a geography book was much larger than many towns back in spain there were 300 wells 50 000 date trees and innumerable colored tents spread among them it looks like a thousand and one nights said the englishman impatient to meet with the alchemist they were surrounded by children curious to look at the animals and people that were arriving the men of the oasis wanted to know if they had seen any fighting and the women competed with one another for access to the cloth and precious stones brought by the merchants the silence of the desert was a distant dream the travelers in the caravan were talking incessantly laughing and shouting as if they had emerged from the spiritual world and found themselves once again in the world of people they were relieved and happy they had been taking careful precautions in the desert but the camel driver explained to the boy that oacs were always considered to be neutral territories because the majority of the inhabitants were women and children there were oases throughout the desert but the tribesmen fought in the desert leaving their oases as places of refuge with some difficulty the leader of the caravan brought all his people together and gave them his instructions the group was to remain there at the oasis until the conflict between the tribes was over since they were visitors they would have to share living space with those who lived there and would be given the best accommodations that was the law of hospitality then he asked that everyone including his own sentinels hand over their arms to the men appointed by the tribal chieftains those are the rules of war the leader explained the oases may not shelter armies or troops to the boy's surprise the englishman took a chrome-plated revolver out of his bag and gave it to the men who were collecting the arms why a revolver he asked it helped me to trust in people the englishman answered meanwhile the boy thought about his treasure the closer he got to the realization of his dream the more difficult things became it seemed as if what the old king had called beginner's luck was no longer functioning in his pursuit of the dream he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage so he could not be hasty nor impatient if he pushed forward impulsively he would fail to see the signs and omens left by god along his path god placed them along my path he'd surprised himself with the thought until then he had considered omens to be things of this world like eating or sleeping or like seeking love or finding a job he'd never thought of them in terms of a language used by god to indicate what he should do don't be impatient he repeated to himself it's like the camel driver said eat when it's time to eat and move along when it's time to move along that first day everyone slept from exhaustion including the englishman the boy was assigned a place far from his friend in a tent with five other young men of bhati's age they were people of the desert and clamored to hear his stories about the great cities the boy told them about his life as a shepherd and was about to tell them of his experiences at the crystal shop when the englishman came into the tent i've been looking for you all morning he said as he led the boy outside i need you to help me to find out where the alchemist lives first they tried to find him on their own an alchemist would probably live in a manner that was different from that of the rest of the people of the oasis and it was likely that in his tent an oven was continuously burning they searched everywhere and found that the oasis was much larger than they could have imagined there were hundreds of tents we've wasted almost the entire day said the englishman sitting down with the boy near one of the wells maybe we better ask someone the boy suggested the englishman didn't want to tell others about his reasons for being at the oasis and couldn't make up his mind but finally he agreed that the boy who spoke better arabic than he should do so the boy approached a woman who had come to the well to fill a goatskin with water good afternoon i'm trying to find out where the alchemist lives here at the oasis the woman said she'd never heard of such a person and hurried away but before she fled she advised the boy that he had better not try to converse with women who were dressed in black because they were married women he should respect tradition the englishman was disappointed it seemed he had made the long journey for nothing the boy was also saddened his friend was in pursuit of his personal legend and when someone was in such a pursuit the entire universe made an effort to help him succeed that's what the old king had said he couldn't have been wrong i had never heard of alchemists before the boy said maybe no one here has either the englishman's eyes lit up that's it maybe no one here knows what an alchemist is find out who it is who cures the people's illnesses several women dressed in black came to the well for water but the boy would speak to none of them despite the englishman's insistence then a man approached do you know someone here who cures people's illnesses the boy asked allah cures our illnesses said the man clearly frightened the strangers you're looking for witch doctors he spoke some verses from the quran and moved on another man appeared he was older and was carrying a small bucket the boy repeated his question why do you want to find that sort of person the arabist because my friend here has traveled for many months in order to meet with him the boy said if such a man is here at the oasis he must be a very powerful one said the old man after thinking for a few moments not even the tribal chieftains are able to see him when they want to only when he consents wait for the end of the war then leave with the caravan don't try to enter into the life of the oasis he said and walked away but the englishman was exultant they were on the right track finally a young woman approached who was not dressed in black she had a vessel on her shoulder and her head was covered by a veil but her face was uncovered the boy approached her to ask about the alchemist at that moment it seemed to him the time stood still and the soul of the world surged within him when he looked into her dark eyes and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart it was love something older than humanity more ancient than the desert something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met as had theirs here at the well she smiled and that was certainly a no-men the o man he had been awaiting without even knowing he was for all his life the o men he had sought to find with his sheep and in his books in the crystals and in the silence of the desert it was the pure language of the world it required no explanation just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time what the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life and that with no need for words she recognized the same thing he was more certain of it than of anything in the world he had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed but maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language because when you know that language it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you whether it's in the middle of the desert or in some great city and when two such people encounter each other and their eyes meet the past and the future become unimportant there is only that moment and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only it is the hand that evokes love and creates a twin soul for every person in the world without such love one's dreams would have no meaning maktub thought the boy the englishman shook the boy come on ask her the boys stepped closer to the girl and when she smiled he did the same what's your name he asked fatima the girl said averting her eyes that's what some women in my country are called it's the name of the prophet's daughter fatima said the invaders carried the name everywhere the beautiful girl spoke of the invaders with pride the englishman prodded him and the boy asked her about the man who cured people's illnesses that's the man who knows all the secrets of the world she said he communicates with the genius of the desert the genies were the spirits of good and evil and the girl pointed to the south indicating that it was there the strange man lived then she filled her vessel with water and left the englishman vanished too gone to find the alchemist and the boy sat there by the well for a long time remembering that one day in tarifa the levanta had bought to him the perfume of that woman and realizing that he had loved her before he even knew she existed he knew that his love for her would enable him to discover every treasure in the world the next day the boy returned to the well hoping to see the girl to his surprise the englishman was there looking out at the desert i waited all afternoon and evening he said he appeared with the first stars of evening i told him what i was seeking and he asked me if i had ever transformed lead into gold i told him that was what i'd come here to learn he told me i should try to do so that's all he said go and try the boy didn't say anything the poor englishman had traveled all this way only to be told that he should repeat what he'd already done so many times so then try he said to the englishman that's what i'm going to do i'm going to start now as the englishman left fatima arrived and filled her vessel with water i came to tell you just one thing the boy said i want you to be my wife i love you the girl dropped the container and the water spilled i'm going to wait here for you every day i have crossed the desert in search of a treasure that is somewhere near the pyramids and for me the war seemed a curse but now it's a blessing because it brought me to you the war is going to end someday the girl said the boy looked around him at the date palms he reminded himself that he had been a shepherd and that he could be a shepherd again fatima was more important than his treasure the tribesman are always in search of treasure the girl said as if she had guessed what he was thinking and the women of the desert are proud of their tribesmen she refilled her vessel and left the boy went to the well every day to meet with fatima he told her about his life as a shepherd about the king and about the crystal shop they became friends and except for the 15 minutes he spent with her each day seemed that it would never pass when he had been at the oasis for about a month the leader of the caravan called a meeting of all the people traveling with him we don't know when the war will end so we can't continue our journey he said the battles may last for a long time perhaps even years there are powerful forces on both sides and the war is important to both armies it's not a battle of good against evil it's a war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power and when that type of battle begins it lasts longer than others because allah is on both sides the people went back to where they were living and the boy went to meet with fatima that afternoon he told her about the morning's meeting the day after we met fatima said you told me that you loved me then you taught me something of the universal language and the soul of the world because of that i have become a part of you the boy listened to the sound of her voice and thought it to be more beautiful than the sound of the wind in the date palms i have been waiting for you here at this oasis for a long time i have forgotten about my past about my traditions and the way in which men of the desert expect women to behave ever since i was a child i have dreamed that the desert would bring me a wonderful present now my presence has arrived and it's you the boy wanted to take her hand but fatima's hands held to the handles of her jug you have told me about your dreams about the old king and your treasure and you've told me about omens so now i fear nothing because it was those omens that brought you to me i am a part of your dream a part of your personal legend as you call it that's why i want you to continue toward your goal if you have to wait until the war is over then wait but if you have to go before then go on in pursuit of your dream the dunes are changed by the wind but the desert never changes that's the way it will be with our love for each other maktube she said if i am really a part of your dream you'll come back one day the boy was sad as he left her that day he thought of all the married shepherds he had known they had a difficult time convincing their wives that they had to go off into distant fields love required them to stay with the people they loved he told fatima that at their next meeting the desert takes our men from us and they don't always return she said we know that and we are used to it those who don't return become a part of the clouds a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth they become a part of everything they become the soul of the world some do come back and then the other women are happy because they believe that their men may one day return as well i used to look at those women and envy them their happiness now i too will be one of the women who wait i'm a desert woman and i'm proud of that i want my husband to wander as free as the wind that shapes the dunes and if i have to i will accept the fact that he's become a part of the clouds and the animals and the water of the desert the boy went to look for the englishman he wanted to tell him about fatima he was surprised when he saw that the englishman had built himself a furnace outside his tent it was a strange furnace fueled by firewood with a transparent flask heating on the top as the englishman stared out at the desert his eyes seemed brighter than they had when he was reading his books this is the first phase of the job he said i have to separate out the sulfur now to do that successfully i must have no fear of failure it was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the master work now i'm beginning what i could have started 10 years ago but i'm happy at least that i didn't wait 20 years he continued to feed the fire and the boy stayed on until the desert turned pink in the setting sun he felt the urge to go out into the desert to see if its silence held the answers to his questions he wandered for a while keeping the date palms of the oasis within sight he listened to the wind and felt the stones beneath his feet here and there he found a shell and realized that the desert in remote times had been a sea he sat on a stone and allowed himself to become hypnotized by the horizon he tried to deal with the concept of love as distinct from possession and couldn't separate them but fatima was a woman of the desert and if anything could help him to understand it was the desert as he sat there thinking he sensed movement above him looking up he saw a pair of hawks flying high in the sky he watched the hawks as they drifted on the wind although their flight appeared to have no pattern it made a certain kind of sense to the boy it was just that he couldn't grasp what it meant he followed the movement of the birds trying to read something into it maybe these desert birds could explain to him the meaning of love without ownership he felt sleepy in his heart he wanted to remain awake but he also wanted to sleep i'm learning the language of the world and everything in the world is beginning to make sense to me even the flight of the hawks he said to himself and in that mood he was grateful to be in love when you're in love things make even more sense he thought suddenly one of the hawks made a flashing dive through the sky attacking the other as it did so a sudden fleeting image came to the boy an army with its swords at the ready riding into the oasis the vision vanished immediately but it had shaken him he had heard people speak of mirages and he had already seen some himself they were desires that because of their intensity materialized over the sounds of the desert but he certainly didn't desire that an army invade the oasis he wanted to forget about the vision and return to his meditation he tried again to concentrate on the pink shades of the desert and its stones but there was something there in his heart that wouldn't allow him to do so always heed the omens the old king had said the boy recalled what he had seen in the vision and sensed that it was actually going to occur he rose and made his way back toward the palm trees once again he perceived the many languages and the things about him this time the desert was safe and it was the oasis that had become dangerous the camel driver was seated at the base of a palm tree observing the sunset he saw the boy appear from the other side of the dunes an army is coming the boy said i had a vision the desert fills men's hearts with visions the camel driver answered but the boy told him about the hawks that he had been watching their flight and had suddenly felt himself to have plunged to the soul of the world the camel driver understood what the boy was saying he knew that any given thing on the face of the earth could reveal the history of all things one could open a book to any page or look at a person's hand one could turn a card or watch the flight of the birds whatever the thing observed one could find a connection with his experience of the moment actually it wasn't those things in themselves revealed anything at all it was just that people looking at what was occurring around them could find a means of penetration to the soul of the world the desert was full of men who earned their living based on the ease with which they could penetrate to the soul of the world they were known as seers and they were held in fear by women and the elderly tribesmen were also wary of consulting them because it would be impossible to be effective in battle if one knew that he was fated to die the tribesman preferred the taste of battle and the thrill of not knowing what the outcome would be the future was already written by allah and what he had written was always for the good of man so the tribesman lived only for the present because the present was full of surprises and they had to be aware of many things where was the enemy's sword where was his horse what kind of blow should one deliver next in order to remain alive the camel driver was not a fighter and he had consulted with sears many of them had been right about what they said while some had been wrong then one day the oldest seer he had ever sought out and the one most to be feared had asked why the camel driver was so interested in the future well so i can do things he had responded and so i can change those things that i don't want to happen but then they wouldn't be part of your future the seer had said well maybe i just want to know the future so i can prepare myself for what's coming if good things are coming they will be a pleasant surprise said the seer if bad things are and you know in advance you will suffer greatly before they even occur i want to know about the future because i'm a man the camel driver has said to the seer and men always lived their lives based on the future the seer was a specialist in the casting of twigs he threw them on the ground and made interpretations based on how they fell that day he didn't make a cast he wrapped the twigs in a piece of cloth and put them back in his back i make my living forecasting the future for people he said i know the science of the twigs and i know how to use them to penetrate to the place where all is written there i can read the past discover what has already been forgotten and understand the omens that are here in the present when people consult me it's not that i'm reading the future i am guessing at the future the future belongs to god and it is only he who reveals it under extraordinary circumstances how do i guess at the future based on the omens of the present the secret is here in the present if you pay attention to the present you can improve upon it and if you improve on the present what comes later will also be better forget about the future and live each day according to the teachings confident and god loves his children each day in itself brings with it an eternity the camel driver had asked what the circumstances were under which god would allow him to see the future only when he himself reveals it and god only rarely reveals the future when he does so it is for only one reason it's a future that was written so as to be altered god had shown the boy a part of the future the camel driver thought why was it that he wanted the boy to serve as his instrument go and speak to the tribal chieftains said the camel driver tell them about the armies that are approaching they'll laugh at me now they are men of the desert and the men of the desert are used to dealing with omens well then they probably already know they're not concerned with that right now they believe that if they have to know about something allah wants them to know someone will tell them about it it has happened many times before but this time the person is you the boy thought of fatima and he decided he would go to see the chiefs of the tribes the boy approached the guard at the front of the huge white tent at the center of the oasis i want to see the chieftains i've brought omens from the desert without responding the guard entered the tent where he remained for some time when he emerged it was with a young arab dressed in white and gold the boy told the younger man what he had seen and the man asked him to wait there he disappeared into the tent night fell and an assortment of fighting men and merchants entered and exited the tent one by one the campfires were extinguished and the oasis fell as quiet as the desert only the lights in the great tent remained during all this time the boy thought about fatima and he was still unable to understand his last conversation with her finally after hours of waiting the guard bad the boy enter the boy was astonished by what he saw inside never could he have imagined that here in the middle of the desert there existed a tent like this one the ground was covered with the most beautiful carpets he'd ever walked upon and from the top of the structure hung lamps of hand-drawn gold each with a lighted candle the tribal chieftains were seated at the back of the tent in a semicircle resting upon richly embroidered silk cushions servants came and went with silver trays laden with spices and tea other servants maintained the fires in the hookers the atmosphere was suffused with the sweet scent of smoke there were eight chieftains but the boy could see immediately which one of them was the most important an arab dressed in white and gold seated at the center of the semicircle at his side was the young arab the boy had spoken with earlier who is this stranger who speaks of romans asked one of the chieftains hiring the boy it is i the boy answered and he told what he had seen why would the desert reveal such things to a stranger when it knows that we have been here for generations said another of the chieftains because my eyes are not yet accustomed to the desert the boy said i can see things that eyes habituated to the desert might not see and also because i know about the soul of the world he thought to himself the oasis is neutral ground no one attacks an oasis said the third chieftain i can only tell you what i saw if you don't want to believe me you don't have to do anything about it the men fell into animated discussion they spoke in an arab dialect the boy didn't understand but when he made to leave the guard told him to stay the boy became fearful the omens told him that something was wrong he regretted having spoken to the camel driver about what he had seen in the desert suddenly the elder at the center smiled almost imperceptibly and the boy felt better the man hadn't participated in the discussion and in fact hadn't said a word up to that point but the boy was already used to the language of the world and he could feel the vibrations of peace throughout the tent now his intuition was that he had been right in coming the discussion ended the chieftains were silent for a few moments as they listened to what the old man was saying then he turned to the boy this time his expression was cold and distant two thousand years ago in a distant land a man who believed in dreams was thrown into a dungeon and then sold as a slave the old man said now in the dialect the boy understood our merchants bought that man and brought him to egypt all of us know that whoever believes in dreams also knows how to interpret them the elder continued when the pharaoh dreamed of cows that were thin and cows that were fat this man i'm speaking of rescued egypt from famine his name was joseph he too was a stranger in a strange land like you and he was probably about your age he paused and his eyes were still unfriendly we always observe the tradition the tradition saved egypt from famine in those days and made the egyptians the wealthiest of peoples the tradition teaches men how to cross the desert and how their children should marry the tradition says that an oasis is neutral territory because both sides have oases and so both are vulnerable no one said a word as the old man continued but the tradition also says that we should believe the messages of the desert everything we know was taught to us by the desert the old man gave a signal and everyone stood the meeting was over the hookers were extinguished and the guards stood at detention the boy made ready to leave but the old man spoke again tomorrow we are going to break the agreement that says no one at the oasis may carry arms throughout the entire day we will be on the lookout for our enemies when the sun sets the men will once again surrender their arms to me for every ten dead men among our enemies you will receive a piece of gold but arms cannot be drawn unless they also go into battle arms are as capricious as the desert and if they are not used the next time they might not function if at least one of them hasn't been used by the end of the day tomorrow one will be used on you when the boy left the tent the oasis was illuminated only by the light of the full moon he was 20 minutes from his tent and began to make his way there he was alarmed by what had happened he had succeeded in reaching through to the soul of the world and now the price for having done so might be his life it was a frightening bet but he had been making risky bets ever since the day he had sold his sheep to pursue his personal legend as the camel driver had said to die tomorrow was no worse than dying on any other day every day was there to be lived or to mark one's departure from this world everything depended on one word mactube walking along in the silence he had no regrets if he died tomorrow it would be because god was not willing to change the future he would at least have died after having crossed the strait after having worked in a crystal shop and after having known the silence of the desert and fatima's eyes he had lived every one of his days intensely since he had left home so long ago if he died tomorrow he would already have seen more than other shepherds and he was proud of that suddenly he heard a thundering sound and he was thrown to the ground by a wind such as he had never known the area was swirling in dust so intense that it hid the moon from view before him was an enormous white horse rearing over him with a frightening scream when the blinding dust had settled a bit the boy trembled at what he saw astride the animal was a horseman dressed completely in black with a falcon perched on his left shoulder he wore a turban and his entire face except for his eyes were covered with a black kerchief he appeared to be a messenger from the desert but his presence was much more powerful than that of a mere messenger the strange horseman drew an enormous curved sword from a scabbard mounted on his saddle the steel of its blade glittered in the light of the moon who dares to read the meaning of the flight of the hawks he demanded so loudly that his words seem to echo through the fifty thousand palm trees of al fayoum it is i who dared to do so said the boy he was reminded of the image of santiago matamoros mounted on his white horse with the infidels beneath his hooves this man looked exactly the same except that now the roles were reversed it is i who dared to do so he repeated and he lowered his head to receive a blow from the sword many lives will be saved because i was able to see through to the soul of the world the sword didn't fall instead the stranger lowered it slowly until the point touched the boy's forehead it drew a droplet of blood the horseman was completely immobile as was the boy it didn't even occur to the boy to flee in his heart he felt a strange sense of joy he was about to die in pursuit of his personal legend and for fatima the omens had been true after all here he was face to face with his enemy but there was no need to be concerned about dying the soul of the world awaited him and he would soon be a part of it and tomorrow his enemy would also be a part of that soul the stranger continued to hold the sword at the boy's forehead why did you read the flight of the birds i read only what the birds wanted to tell me they wanted to save the oasis tomorrow all of you will die because there are more men at the oasis than you have the sword remained where it was who are you to change what allah has willed allah created the armies and he also created the hawks allah taught me the language of the birds everything has been written by the same hand the boy said remembering the camel driver's words the stranger withdrew the sword from the boy's forehead and the boy felt immensely relieved but he still couldn't flee be careful with your prognostications said the stranger when something is written there is no way to change it all i saw was an army said the boy i didn't see the outcome of the battle the stranger seemed satisfied with the answer but he kept the sword in his hand what is a stranger doing in a strange land i'm following my personal legend it's not something you would understand the stranger placed his sword in its scabbard and the boy relaxed i had to test your courage the stranger said courage is the quality most essential to understanding the language of the world the boy was surprised the stranger was speaking of things very few people knew about you must not let up even after having come so far he continued you must love the desert but never trust it completely because the desert tests all men it challenges every step and kills those who become distracted what he said reminded the boy of the old king if the warriors come here and your head is still on your shoulders at sunset come and find me said the stranger the same hand that had brandished the sword now held a whip the horse reared again raising a cloud of dust where'd you live shouted the boy as the horseman rode away the hand with the whip pointed to the south the boy had met the alchemist next morning there were two thousand armed men scattered throughout the palm trees at al-fayoum before the sun had reached its high point 500 tribesmen appeared on the horizon the mounted troops entered the oasis from the north it appeared to be a peaceful expedition but they all carried arms hidden in their robes when they reached the white tent at the center of al-fayoum they withdrew their scimitars and rifles and they attacked an empty tent the men of the oasis surrounded the horsemen from the desert and within half an hour all but one of the intruders were dead the children had been kept at the other side of a grove of palm trees and saw nothing of what had happened the women had remained in their tents praying for the safe keeping of their husbands and saw nothing of the battle either were it not for the bodies there on the ground it would have appeared to be a normal day at the oasis the only tribesmen spared was the commander of the battalion that afternoon he was brought before the tribal chieftains who asked him why he had violated the tradition the commander said that his men had been starving and thirsty exhausted from many days of battle and had decided to take the oasis so as to be able to return to the war the tribal chieftain said that he felt sorry for the tribesmen but that the tradition was sacred he condemned the commander to death without honor rather than being killed by a blade or a bullet he was hanged from a dead palm tree where his body twisted in the desert wind the tribal chieftain called for the boy and presented him with fifty pieces of gold he repeated his story about joseph of egypt and asked the boy to become the counsellor of the oasis when the sun had set and the first stars made their appearance the boy started to walk to the south he eventually cited a single tent and a group of arabs passing by told the boy that it was a place inhabited by genies but the boy sat down and waited not until the moon was high did the alchemist ride into view he carried two dead hawks over his shoulder i'm here the boy said you shouldn't be here the alchemist answered or is it your personal legend that brings you here with the wars between the tribes it's impossible to cross the desert so i've come here the alchemist dismounted from his horse and signaled that the boy should enter the tent with him it was a tent like many at the oasis the boy looked around for the ovens and other apparatus used in alchemy but saw none there were only some books in a pile a small cooking stove and the carpets covered with mysterious designs sit down we'll have something to drink and eat these hawks said the alchemist the boy suspected that they were the same hawks he had seen on the day before but he said nothing the alchemist lighted the fire and soon a delicious aroma filled the tent it was better than the scent of hookers why did you want to see me the boy asked because of the omens the alchemist answered the wind told me you would be coming and that you would need help it's not i the wind spoke about it's the other foreigner the englishman he's the one that's looking for you he has other things to do first but he's on the right track he has begun to try to understand the desert and what about me when a person really desires something all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream said the alchemist echoing the words of the old king the boy understood another person was there to help him towards his personal legend so are you going to instruct me no you already know all you need to know i am only going to point you in the direction of your treasure but there's a tribal war the boy reiterated i know what's happening in the desert i've already found my treasure i have a camel i have my money from the crystal shop and i have 50 gold pieces in my own country i'd be a rich man but none of that is from the pyramids said the alchemist i also have fatima she's a treasure greater than anything else i've won she wasn't found at the pyramids either they ate in silence the alchemist opened a bottle and poured a red liquid into the boy's cup it was the most delicious wine he had ever tasted isn't wine prohibited here the boy asked it's not what enters men's mouths that's evil said the alchemist it's what comes out of their mouths that is the alchemist was a bit daunting but as the boy drank the wine he relaxed after they finished eating they sat outside the tent under a moon so brilliant that it made the stars pale drink and enjoy yourself said the alchemist noticing that the boy was feeling happier rest well tonight as if you were a warrior preparing for combat remember that wherever your heart is there you will find your treasure you've got to find the treasure so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense tomorrow sell your camel and buy a horse camels are treacherous they walk thousands of paces and never seem to tire then suddenly they kneel and die but horses tire bits by bit you always know how much you can ask of them and when it is that they are about to die the following night the boy appeared at the alchemist tent with a horse the alchemist was ready and he mounted his own steed and placed the falcon on his left shoulder he said to the boy show me where there is life out in the desert only those who can see such signs of life are able to find treasure they began to ride out over the sands with the moon lighting their way i don't know if i'll be able to find life in the desert the boy thought i don't know the desert that well yet he wanted to say so to the alchemist but he was afraid of the man they reached the rocky place where the boy had seen the hawks in the sky but now there was only silence and the wind i don't know how to find life in the desert the boy said i know that there's life here but i don't know where to look life attracts life the alchemist answered and then the boy understood he loosened the reins on his horse who galloped forward over the rocks and sand the alchemist followed as the boy's horse ran for almost half an hour they could no longer see the palms of the oasis only the gigantic moon above them and its silver reflections from the stones of the desert suddenly for no apparent reason the boy's horse began to slow there's life here the boy said to the alchemist i don't know the language of the desert but my horse knows the language of life they dismounted and the alchemist said nothing advancing slowly they searched among the stones the alchemist stopped abruptly and bent to the ground there was a hole there among the stones the alchemist put his hand into the hole and then his entire arm up to his shoulder something was moving there and the alchemist's eyes the boy could only see his eyes squinted with his effort his arms seemed to be battling with whatever was in the hole then with a motion that startled the boy he withdrew his arm and leapt to his feet in his hand he grasped a snake by the tail the boy left as well but away from the alchemist the snake fought frantically making hissing sounds that shattered the silence of the desert it was a cobra whose venom could kill a person in minutes watch out for his venom the boy said but even though the alchemist had put his hand in the hole and had surely already been bitten his expression was calm the alchemist is 200 years old the englishman had told him he must know how to deal with snakes in the desert the boy watched as his companion went to his horse and withdrew a scimitar with its blade he drew a circle in the sand and then he placed the snake within it the serpent relaxed immediately not to worry said the alchemist you won't leave the circle you found life in the desert the o men that i needed why was that so important because the pyramids are surrounded by deserts the boy didn't want to talk about the pyramids his heart was heavy and he had been melancholy since the previous night to continue his search for the treasure meant that he had to abandon fatima i'm going to guide you across the desert the alchemist said i want to stay at the oasis the boy answered i found fatima and as far as i'm concerned she's worth more than treasure fatima is a woman of the desert said the alchemist she knows that men have to go away in order to return and she already has her treasure it's you now she expects that you will find what it is you're looking for well what if i decide to stay let me tell you what will happen you'll be the counsellor of the oasis you have enough gold to buy many sheep and many camels you'll marry fatima and you'll both be happy for a year you'll learn to love the desert and you'll get to know every one of the fifty thousand pounds you'll watch them as they grow demonstrating how the world is always changing and you'll get better and better at understanding omens because the desert is the best teacher there is sometime during the second year you'll remember about the treasure the omens will begin insistently to speak of it and you'll try to ignore them you'll use your knowledge for the welfare of the oasis and its inhabitants the tribal chieftains will appreciate what you do and your camels will bring you wealth and power during the third year the omens will continue to speak of your treasure and your personal legend you'll walk around night after night at the oasis and fatima will be unhappy because she'll feel it with she who interrupted your quest but you will love her and she'll return your love you'll remember that she never asked you to stay because a woman of the desert knows that she must await her man so you won't blame her but many times you'll walk the sands of the desert thinking that maybe you could have left that you could have trusted more in your love for fatima because what kept you at the oasis was your own fear that you might never come back at that point the omens will tell you that your treasure is buried forever then sometime during the fourth year the omens will abandon you because you stopped listening to them the tribal chieftains will see that and you'll be dismissed from your position as counselor but by then you'll be a rich merchant with many camels and a great deal of merchandise you'll spend the rest of your days knowing that you didn't pursue your personal legend and that now it's too late you must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his personal legend if he abandons that pursuit it's because it wasn't true love the love that speaks the language of the world the alchemist raised the circle in the sand and the snake slithered away among the rocks the boy remembered the crystal merchant who had always wanted to go to mecca and the englishman in search of the alchemist he thought of the woman who had trusted in the desert and he looked out over the desert that had brought him to the woman he loved they mounted their horses and this time it was the boy who followed the alchemist back to the oasis the wind brought the sounds of the oasis to them and the boy tried to hear fatima's voice but that night as he had watched the cobra within the circle the strange horseman with the falcon on his shoulder had spoken of love and treasure of the women of the desert and of his personal legend i'm going with you the boy said and he immediately felt peace in his heart we'll leave tomorrow before sunrise was the alchemist's only response the boy spent a sleepless night two hours before dawn he awoke one of the boys who slept in his tent and asked him to show him where fatima lived they went to her tent and the boy gave his friend enough gold to buy a sheep then he asked his friend to go into the tent where fatima was sleeping and to awaken her and tell her that he was waiting outside the young arab did as he was asked and was given enough gold to buy yet another sheep now leave us alone said the boy to the young arab the arab returned to his tent to sleep proud to have helped the councillor of the oasis and happy at having enough money to buy himself some sheep fatima appeared at the entrance to the tent the two walked out among the palms the boy knew it was a violation of the tradition but that didn't matter to him now i'm going away he said and i want you to know that i'm coming back i love you because don't say anything fatimah interrupted one is loved because one is loved no reason is needed for loving but the boy continued i had a dream and i met with a king i sold crystal and crossed the desert and because the tribes declared war i went to the well seeking the alchemist so i love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you the two embraced it was the first time either had touched the other i'll be back the boy said before this i always looked to the desert with longing said fatima now it will be with hope my father went away one day but he returned to my mother and he has always come back since then they said nothing else they walked a bit further among the palms and then the boy left her at the entrance to her tent i'll return just as your father came back to your mother he said he saw that fatima's eyes were filled with tears you're crying i'm a woman of the desert she said averting her face but above all i'm a woman fatima went back to her tent and when daylight came she went out to do the chores she had done for years but everything had changed the boy was no longer at the oasis and the oasis would never again have the same meaning it had had only yesterday it would no longer be a place with fifty thousand palm trees and three hundred wells where the pilgrims arrived relieved at the end of their long journeys from that day on the oasis would be an empty place for her from that day on it was the desert that would be important she would look to it every day and would try to guess which star the boy was following in search of his treasure she would have to send her kisses on the wind hoping that the wind would touch the boy's face and would tell him that she was alive that she was waiting for him a woman awaiting a courageous man in search of his treasure from that day on the desert would represent only one thing to her the hope for his return don't think about what you've left behind the alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sounds of the desert everything is written in the soul of the world and there it will stay forever men dream more about coming home than about leaving the boy said he was already reaccustomed to the desert silence if what one finds is made of pure matter it will never spoil and one can always come back if what you had found was only a moment of light like the explosion of a star you would find nothing on your return the man was speaking the language of alchemy but the boy knew he was referring to fatima it was difficult not to think about what he had left behind the desert with its endless monotony put into dreaming the boy could still see the palm trees the wells and the face of the woman he loved he could see the englishman at his experiments and the camel driver who was a teacher without realizing it maybe the alchemist has never been in love the boy thought the alchemist rode in front with the falcon on his shoulder the bird knew the language of the desert well and whenever they stopped he flew off in search of game on the first day he returned with a rabbit and on the second with two birds at night they spread their sleeping gear and kept their fires hidden the desert nights were cold and were becoming darker and darker as the phases of the moon passed they went on for a week speaking only of the precautions they needed to follow in order to avoid the battles between the tribes the war continued and at times the wind carried the sweet sickly smell of blood battles had been fought nearby and the wind reminded the boy that there was the language of omens always ready to show him what his eyes had failed to observe on the seventh day the alchemist decided to make camp earlier than usual the falcon flew off fine game and the alchemist offered his water container to the boy you are almost at the end of your journey said the alchemist i congratulate you for having pursued your personal legend and you've told me nothing along the way said the boy i thought you were going to teach me some of the things you know a while ago i rode through the desert with a man who had books on alchemy but i wasn't able to learn anything from them there is only one way to learn the alchemist answered it's through action everything you need to know you have learned through your journey you need to learn only one thing more the boy wants to know what that was but the alchemist was searching the horizon looking for the falcon why are you called the alchemist because that's what i am and what went wrong when other alchemists tried to make gold and were unable to do so they were looking only for gold his companion answered they were seeking the treasure of their personal legend without wanting actually to live out the personal legend what is it that i still need to know the boy asked but the alchemist continued to look to the horizon and finally the falcon returned with their meal they dug a hole and lit their fire in it so the light of the flames would not be seen i'm an alchemist simply because i'm an alchemist he said as he prepared the meal i learned the science from my grandfather who learned it from his father and so on back to the creation of the world in those times the master work could be written simply on an emerald but men began to reject simple things and to write tracts interpretations and philosophical studies they also began to feel that they knew a better way than others had yet the emerald tablet is still alive today what was written on the emerald tablet the boy wants to know the alchemists began to draw in the sand and completed his drawing in less than five minutes as he drew the boy thought of the old king and the plaza where they had met that day it seemed as if it had taken place years and years ago this is what was written on the emerald tablet said the alchemist when he had finished the boy tried to read what was written in the sand it's a code said the boy a bit disappointed it looks like what i saw in the englishman's books no the alchemist answered it's like the flight of those two hawks it can't be understood by reason alone the emerald tablet is a direct passage to the soul of the world the wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise the existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect god created the world so that through its visible objects men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom that's what i mean by action should i understand the emerald tablet the boy asked perhaps if you were in a laboratory of alchemy this would be the right time to study the best way to understand the emerald tablet but you are in the desert so immerse yourself in it the desert will give you an understanding of the world in fact anything on the face of the earth will do that you don't even have to understand the desert all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand and you will see in it all the marvels of creation how do i immerse myself in the desert listen to your heart it knows all things because it came from the soul of the world and it will one day return there they crossed the desert for another two days in silence the alchemist had become much more cautious because they were approaching the area where the most violent battles were being waged as they moved along the boy tried to listen to his heart it was not easy to do in earlier times his heart had always been ready to tell its story but lately that wasn't true there have been times when his heart spent hours telling of its sadness and at other times it became so emotional over the desert sunrise that the boy had to hide his tears his heart beat fastest when it spoke to the boy of treasure and more slowly when the boys stared entranced at the endless horizons of the desert but his heart was never quiet even when the boy and the alchemists had fallen into silence why do we have to listen to our hearts the boy asked when they had made camp that day because wherever your heart is that is where you'll find your treasure but my heart is agitated the boy said it has its dreams it gets emotional and it's become passionate over a woman of the desert it asks things of me and it keeps me from sleeping many nights when i'm thinking about her well that's good your heart is alive keep listening to what it has to say during the next three days the two travelers passed by a number of armed tribesmen and saw others on the horizon the boy's heart began to speak of fear it told him stories it had heard from the soul of the world stories of men who sought to find their treasure and never succeeded sometimes it frightened the boy with the idea that he might not find his treasure or that he might die there in the desert at other times it told the boy that it was satisfied it had found love and riches my heart is a traitor the boy said to the alchemist when they'd paused to rest their horses it doesn't want me to go on well that makes sense the alchemist answered naturally it's afraid that in pursuing your dream you might lose everything you've won well then why should i listen to my heart because you will never again be able to keep it quiet even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you it will always be there inside you repeating to you what you're thinking about life and about the world you mean i should listen even if it's treasonous treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly if you know your heart well it will never be able to do that to you because you'll know its dreams and wishes and will know how to deal with them you will never be able to escape from your heart so it's better to listen to what it has to say that way you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow the boy continued to listen to his heart as they crossed the desert he came to understand its dodges and tricks and to accept it as it was he lost his fear and forgot about his need to go back to the oasis because one afternoon his heart told him that it was happy even though i complained sometimes it said it's because i'm the heart of a person and people's hearts are that way people are afraid to pursue their most important dreams because they feel they don't deserve them or that they'll be unable to achieve them we their hearts become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever or of moments that could have been good but weren't or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands because when these things happen we suffer terribly my heart's afraid it'll have to suffer the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself and that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams because every second of the search is a second's encounter with god and with eternity every second of the search is an encounter with god the boy told his heart when i have been truly searching for my treasure every day has been luminous because i've known that every hour was a part of the dream that i would find it when i have been truly searching for my treasure i've discovered things along the way that i never would have seen had i not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve so his heart was quiet for an entire afternoon that night the boy slept deeply and when he awoke his heart began to tell him things that came from the soul of the world it said that all people who are happy have god within them and that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert as the alchemist has said because a grain of sand is a moment of creation and the universe has taken millions of years to create it everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him his heart said we people's hearts seldom say much about those treasures because people no longer want to go in search of them we speak of them only to children later we simply let life proceed in its own direction towards its own fate but unfortunately very few follow the path laid out for them the path to their personal legends and to happiness most people see the world as a threatening place and because they do the world turns out indeed to be a threatening place so we their hearts speak more and more softly we never stop speaking out but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard we don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams the boy asked the alchemist because that's what makes a heart suffer most and hearts don't like to suffer from then on the boy understood his heart he asked it please never to stop speaking to him he asked that when he wandered far from his dreams his heart pressed him and sound the alarm the boy swore that every time he heard the alarm he would heed its message that night he told all of this to the alchemist and the alchemist understood that the boy's heart had returned to the soul of the world so what should i do now the boy asked continue in the direction of the pyramids said the alchemist and continue to pay heed to the omens your heart is still capable of showing you where the treasure is is that the one thing i still needed to know no the alchemist answered what you still need to know is this before a dream is realized the soul of the world tests everything that was learned along the way it does this not because it is evil but so that we can in addition to realizing our dreams master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream that's the point at which most people give up it's the point at which as we say in the language of the desert one dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon every search begins with beginners luck and every search ends with the victors being severely tested the boy remembered an old proverb from his country it said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn on the following day the first clear sign of danger appeared three armed tribesmen approached and asked what the boy and the alchemist were doing there i'm hunting with my falcon the alchemist answered we're going to have to search you to see whether you're armed one of the tribesmen said the alchemist dismounted slowly and the boy did the same why are you carrying money asked the tribesman when he had searched the boy's bag i i need to get to the pyramids he said the tribesmen who were searching the alchemist's belongings found a small crystal flask filled with a liquid and a yellow glass egg that was slightly larger than a chicken's egg what are these things he asked that's the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life it's the master work of the alchemists whoever swallows that elixir will never be sick again and a fragment from that stone turns any metal into gold the arabs laughed at him and the alchemists laughed along they thought his answer was amusing and they allowed the boy and the alchemist to proceed with all of their belongings are you crazy the boy asked the alchemist when they'd moved on what did you do that for to show you one of life's simple lessons the alchemist answered when you possess great treasures within you and try to tell others of them seldom are you believed they continued across the desert with every day that passed the boy's heart became more and more silent it no longer wanted to know about things of the past or future it was content simply to contemplate the desert and to drink with the boy from the soul of the world and the boy and his heart had become friends and neither was capable now of betraying the other when his heart spoke to him it was to provide a stimulus to the boy and to give him strength because the days of silence there in the desert were wearison his heart told the boy what his strongest qualities were his courage in having given up his sheep and in trying to live out his personal legend and his enthusiasm during the time he had worked at the crystal shop and his heart told him something else that the boy had never noticed it told the boy of dangers that had threatened him but that he had never perceived his heart said that one time it had hidden the rifle the boy had taken from his father because of the possibility that the boy might wound himself and it reminded the boy of the day when he had been ill and vomiting out in the fields after which he had fallen into a deep sleep there had been two thieves further ahead who were planning to steal the boy's sheep and murder him but since the boy hadn't passed by they had decided to move on thinking that he had changed his route does a man's heart always help him the boy asked the alchemist mostly just the hearts of those who are trying to realize their personal legends but they do help children drunkards and the elderly too does that mean i'll never run into danger it means only that the heart does what it can the alchemist said one afternoon they passed by the encampment of one of the tribes at each corner of the camp were arabs garbed in beautiful white robes with arms at the ready the men were smoking their hookers and trading stories from the battlefield no one paid any attention to the two travelers there's no danger the boy said when they had moved on past the encampment the alchemist sounded angry trust in your heart but never forget that you're in the desert when men are at war with one another the soul of the world can hear the streams of battle no one fails to suffer the consequences of everything under the sun all things are one the boy thought and then as if the desert wanted to demonstrate that the alchemist was right two horsemen appeared from behind the travelers you can't go any further one of them said you're in the area where the tribes are at war i'm not going very far the alchemist answered looking straight into the eyes of the horsemen they were silent for a moment and then agreed that the boy and the alchemist could move along the boy watched the exchange with fascination you dominated those horsemen with the way you looked at them he said your eyes show the strength of your soul answered the alchemist that's true the boy thought he'd noticed that in the midst of the multitude of armed men back at the encampment there had been one who stared fixedly at the two he'd been so far away that his face wasn't even visible but the boy was certain that he had been looking at them finally when they had crossed the mountain range that extended along the entire horizon the alchemist said that they were only two days from the pyramids if we are going to go our separate ways soon the boy said then teach me about alchemy you already know about alchemy it is about penetrating to the soul of the world and discovering the treasure that has been reserved for you no that's not what i mean i'm talking about transforming lead into gold alchemist fell as silent as the desert and answered the boy only after they had stopped to eat everything in the universe evolved he said and for wise men gold is the metal that evolved the furthest don't ask me why i don't know why i just know that the tradition is always right men have never understood the words of the wise so gold instead of being seen as a symbol of evolution became the basis for conflict there are many languages spoken by things the boy said there was a time when for me a camel's winning was nothing more than winning then it became a signal of danger and finally it became just a winning again but then he stopped the alchemist probably already knew all that i have known true alchemists the alchemist continued they locked themselves in their laboratories and tried to evolve as gold had and they found the philosopher's stone because they understood that when something evolves everything around that thing evolves as well others stumbled upon the stone by accident they already had the gift and their souls were readier for such things than the souls of others they don't count they're quite rare and then there were the others who were interested only in gold they never found the secret they forgot that lead copper and iron have their own personal legends to fulfill and anyone who interferes with the personal legend of another thing never will discover his own the alchemist words echoed out like a curse he reached over and picked up a shell from the ground this desert was once a sea he said i noticed that the boy answered the alchemist told the boy to place the shell over his ear he had done that many times that he was a child and had heard the sound of the sea the sea has lived on in this shell because that's its personal legend it will never cease doing so until the desert is once again covered by water they mounted their horses and rode out in the direction of the pyramids of egypt the sun was setting when the boy's heart sounded a danger signal they were surrounded by gigantic dunes and the boy looked at the alchemist to see whether he had sensed anything but he appeared to be unaware of it in danger five minutes later the boy saw two horsemen waiting ahead of them before he could say anything to the alchemist the two horsemen had become ten and then a hundred and then they were everywhere in the dunes they were tribesmen dressed in blue with black rings surrounding their turbans their faces were hidden behind blue veils with only their eyes showing even from a distance their eyes conveyed the strength of their souls and their eyes spoke of death the two were taken to a nearby military camp a soldier shoved the boy and the alchemist into a tent where the chief was holding a meeting with his staff these are the spies said one of the men we're just travellers the alchemist answered you were seen at the enemy camp three days ago and you were talking with one of the troops there oh i'm just a man who wanders the desert and knows the stars said the alchemist i have no information about troops or about the movement of the tribes i was simply acting as a guide for my friend here who is your friend the chief asked an alchemist said the alchemist he understands the forces of nature and he wants to show you his extraordinary powers the boy listened quietly and fearfully what's a foreigner doing here asked another of the men he has brought money to give to your tribe said the alchemist before the boy could say a word and seizing the boy's bag the alchemist gave the gold coins to the chief the arab accepted them without a word there was enough there to buy a lot of weapons what is an alchemist he asked finally it's a man who understands nature and the world if he wanted to he could destroy this camp just with the force of the wind the men laughed they were used to the ravages of war and knew that the wind could not deliver them a fatal blow yet each felt his heart beat a bit faster they were men of the desert and they were fearful of sorcerers i want to see him do it said the chief oh he needs three days answered the alchemist he's going to transform himself into the wind just to demonstrate his powers if he can't do it we humbly offer you our lives for the honor of your tribe you can't offer me something that's already mine the chief said arrogantly but he granted the travelers three days the boy was shaking with fear but the alchemist helped him out of the tent don't let them see you're afraid the alchemist said they are brave men and they despise cowards but the boy couldn't even speak he was able to do so only after they had walked through the center of the camp there was no need to imprison them the arabs simply confiscated their horses so once again the world had demonstrated its many languages the desert only moments ago had been endless and free and now it was an impenetrable wall you gave them everything i had the boy said everything i've saved in my entire life well what good would it be to you if you had to die the alchemist answered your money saved us for three days it's not often that money saves a person's life but the boy was too frightened to listen to words of wisdom he had no idea how he was going to transform himself into the wind he wasn't an alchemist the alchemist asked one of the soldiers for some tea and poured some on the boy's wrists a wave of relief washed over him and the alchemist muttered some words that the boy didn't understand don't give in to your fears said the alchemist in a strangely gentle voice if you do you won't be able to talk to your heart but i have no idea how to turn myself into the wind if a person is living out his personal legend he knows everything he needs to know there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve the fear of failure i'm not afraid of failing it's just i don't know how to turn myself into the wind well you'll have to learn your life depends on it but what if i can't then you'll die in the midst of trying to realize your personal legend well that's a lot better than dying like millions of other people who never even knew what their personal legends were but don't worry the alchemist continued usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives the first day passed there was a major battle nearby and a number of wounded were brought back to the camp the dead soldiers were replaced by others and life went on death doesn't change anything the boy thought you could have died later on a soldier said to the body of one of his companions you could have died after peace had been declared but in any case you were going to die at the end of the day the boy went looking for the alchemist who had taken his falcon out into the desert i still had no idea how to turn myself into the wind the boy repeated remember what i told you the world is only the visible aspect of god and that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane what are you doing feeding my falcon if i'm not able to turn myself into the wind we're gonna die the boy said why feed your falcon you're the one who may die the alchemist said i already know how to turn myself into the wind on the second day the boy climbed to the top of a cliff near the camp the sentinels allowed him to go they had already heard about the sorcerer who could turn himself into the wind and they didn't want to go near him in any case the desert was impossible he spent the entire afternoon of the second day looking out over the desert and listening to his heart the boy knew the desert sensed his fear they both spoke the same language on the third day the chief met with his officers he called the alchemist to the meeting and said let's go and see the boy who turns himself into the wind let the alchemist answered the boy took them to the cliff where he had been on the previous day he told them all to be seated it's going to take a while the boy said we're in no hurry the chief answered we are men of the desert the boy looked out at the horizon there were mountains in the distance and there were dunes rocks and plants that insisted on living where survival seemed impossible there was the desert that he had wandered for so many months despite all that time he knew only a small part of it within that small part he had found an englishman caravans tribal wars and an oasis with fifty thousand palm trees and three hundred wells what you want here today the desert asked him didn't you spend enough time looking at me yesterday somewhere you're holding the person i love the boy said so when i look out over your sands i'm also looking at her i want to return to her and i need your help so that i can turn myself into the wind what is love the desert asked love is the falcon's flight over your sands because for him you are a green field from which he always returns with game he knows your rocks your dunes and your mountains and you are generous to him the falcons beak carries bits of me myself the desert said for years i care for his game feeding it with the little water that i have and then i show him where the game is and one day as i enjoy the fact that his game thrives on my surface the falcon dives out of the sky and takes away what i've created but that's why you created the game in the first place the boy answered to nourish the falcon and the falcon then nourishes man and eventually man will nourish your sands where the game will once again flourish that's how the world goes so is that what love is yes that's what love is it's what makes the game become the falcon the fork and become the man and man in his turn the desert it's what turns lead into gold and makes the gold return to the earth i don't understand what you're talking about the desert said but you can at least understand that somewhere in your sands there is a woman waiting for me and that's why i have to turn myself into the wind the desert didn't answer him for a few moments then it told him i'll give you my sounds to help the wind to blow but alone i can't do anything you have to ask help from the wind a breeze began to blow the tribesmen watched the boy from a distance talking among themselves in the language that the boy couldn't understand the alchemist smiled the wind approached the boy and touched his face it knew of the boy's talk with the desert because the winds know everything they blow across the world without a birthplace and with no place to die help me the boy said one day you carried the voice of my loved one to me who taught you to speak the language of the desert and the wind my heart the boy answered the wind has many names in that part of the world it was called the sirocco because it brought moisture from the oceans to the east in the distant land the boy came from they called it the levanta because they believed that it brought with it the sands of the desert and the screams of the moorish wars perhaps in the places beyond the pastures where his sheep lived men thought that the wind came from andalusia but actually the wind came from no place at all nor did it go to any place that's why it was stronger than the desert someone might one day plant trees in the desert and even raise sheep there but never would they harness the wind you can't be the wind the wind said we're two very different things that's not true the boy said i learned the alchemist secrets in my travels i have inside me the winds the deserts the oceans the stars and everything created in the universe we were all made by the same hand and we all had the same soul i want to be like you able to reach every corner of the world cross the seas blow away the sands that cover my treasure and carry the voice of the woman i love i had what you were talking about the other day with the alchemist the wind said he said that everything has its own personal legend but people can't turn themselves into the wind just teach me to be the wind for a few moments the boy said so you and i can talk about the limitless possibilities of people and the winds the winds curiosity was aroused something that had never happened before it wanted to talk about those things but it didn't know how to turn a man into the wind and look how many things the wind already knew how to do it created deserts sank ships felled entire forests and blew through cities filled with music and strange noises it felt that it had no limits yet here was a boy saying that there were other things the wind should be able to do this is what we call love the boy said seeing that the wind was close to granting what he requested when you're loved you can do anything in creation when you are loved there's no need at all to understand what's happening because everything happens within you and even men can turn themselves into the wind as long as the wind helps of course the wind was a proud being and it was becoming irritated with what the boy was saying it commenced to blow harder raising the desert sands but finally it had to recognize that even making its way around the world it didn't know how to turn a man into the wind and it knew nothing about love in my travels around the world i've often seen people speaking of love and looking towards the heavens the wind said furious at having to acknowledge its own limitations maybe it's better to ask heaven well then help me to do that the boy said fill this place with a sandstorm so strong that it blots out the sun then i can look to heaven without blinding myself so the wind blew with all its strength and the sky was filled with sand the sun was turned into a golden disc at the camp it was difficult to see anything the men of the desert were already familiar with that wind they called it the simum and it was worse than a storm at sea their horses cried out and all their weapons were filled with sand on the heights one of the commanders turned to the chief and said maybe we'd better end this they could barely see the boy their faces were covered with the blue cloths and their eyes showed fear let's stop this another commander said i want to see the greatness of allah the chief said with respect i want to see how a man turns himself into the wind but he made a mental note of the names of the two men who had expressed their fear as soon as the wind stopped he was going to remove them from their commands because true men of the desert are not afraid the wind told me that you know about love the boy said to the sun if you know about love you must also know about the soul of the world because it's made of love from where i am the sun said i can see the soul of the world it communicates with my soul and together we cause the plants to grow and the sheep to seek out shade from where i am and i'm a long way from the earth i learned how to love i know that if i came even a little bit closer to the earth everything there would die and the soul of the world would no longer exist so we contemplate each other and we want each other and i give it life of warmth and it gives me my reason for living so you know about love the boy said and i know the soul of the world because we've talked to great lengths to each other during this endless trip through the universe it tells me that its greatest problem is that up until now only the minerals and vegetables understand that all things are one that there's no need for iron to be the same as copper or copper the same as gold each performs its own exact function as unique being everything would be a symphony of peace if the hand that wrote all this had stopped on the fifth day of creation but there was a sixth day the sun went on you are wise because you observe everything from a distance the boy said but you don't know about love if there hadn't been a sixth day man would not exist copper would always be just copper and lead just lead it's true that everything has its personal legend but one day that personal legend will be realized so each thing has to transform itself into something better and to acquire a new personal legend until someday the soul of the world becomes one thing only the sun thought about that and decided to shine more brightly the wind which was enjoying the conversation started to blow with greater force so the sun would not blind the boy this is why alchemy exists the boy said so that everyone will search for his treasure find it and then want to be better than he was in his former life lead will play its role until the world has no further need for lead and then lead will have to turn itself into gold that's what alchemists do they show that when we strive to become better than we are everything around us becomes better too well why did you say that i don't know about love the son asked the boy because it's not love to be static like the deserts nor is it love to roam the world like the wind and it's not love to see everything from a distance like you do love is the force that transforms and improves the soul of the world when i first reached through to it i thought the soul of the world was perfect but later i could see that it was like other aspects of creation and had its own passions and wars it is we who nourish the soul of the world and the world we live in will be either better or worse depending on whether we become better or worse and that's where the power of love comes in because when we love we always strive to become better than we are so what are you watching me the sun asked i want you to help me turn myself into the wind the boy answered nature knows me as the wisest being in creation the sun said but i don't know how to turn you into the wind then whom should i ask the sun thought for a minute the wind was listening closely and wanted to tell every corner of the world that the sun's wisdom had its limitations that it was unable to deal with this boy who spoke the language of the world but speak to the hand that wrote all said the sun the wind screamed with delight and blew harder than ever the tents were being blown from their ties to the earth and the animals were being freed from their tethers on the cliff the men clutched at each other as they sought to keep from being blown away the boy turned to the hand that wrote all as he did so he sensed that the universe had fallen silent and he decided not to speak a current of love rushed from his heart and the boy began to pray it was a prayer that he'd never said before because it was a prayer without words or please his prayer didn't give thanks for his sheep having found new pastures it didn't ask that the boy be able to sell more crystal and it didn't beseech that the woman he had met continued to await his return in the silence the boy understood that the desert the wind and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand and were seeking to follow their paths and to understand what had been written on a single emerald he saw that omens were scattered throughout the earth and in space and that there was no reason or significance attached to their appearance he could see that not the deserts nor the winds nor the sun nor people knew why they had been created but that the hand had a reason for all of this and that only the hand could perform miracles or transform the sea into a desert or a man into the wind because only the hand understood that it was a larger design that had moved the universe to the point at which six days of creation had evolved into a masterwork the boy reached through to the soul of the world and saw that it was a part of the soul of god and he saw that the soul of god was his own soul and that he a boy could perform miracles the simum blew that day as it had never blown before for generations thereafter the arabs recounted the legend of a boy who had turned himself into the wind almost destroying a military camp in defiance of the most powerful chief in the desert when the simulm ceased to blow everyone looked to the place where the boy had been but he was no longer there he was standing next to a sand covered sentinel on the far side of the camp the men were terrified at his sorcery but there were two people who were smiling the alchemist because he had found his perfect disciple and the chief because that disciple had understood the glory of god the following day the general bad the boy and the alchemist farewell and provided them with an escort party to accompany them as far as they chose they rode for the entire day toward the end of the afternoon they came upon a coptic monastery the alchemist dismounted and told the escorts they could return to the camp from here on you will be alone the alchemist said you are only three hours from the pyramids thank you said the boy you taught me the language of the world i only invoked what you already knew the alchemist knocked on the gate of the monastery a monk dressed in black came to the gates they spoke for a few minutes in the coptic tongue and the alchemist bad boy enter i asked him to let me use the kitchen for a while the alchemist smiled they went to the kitchen at the back of the monastery the alchemist lighted the fire and the monk brought in some lead which the alchemist placed in an iron pan when the lead become liquid the alchemist took from his pouch the strange yellow egg he scraped from it a sliver as thin as a hair wrapped it in wax and added it to the pan in which the lead had melted the mixture took on a reddish color almost the color of blood the alchemist removed the pan from the fire and set it aside to cool as he did so he talked with the monk about the tribal wars i think they're going to last for a long time he said to the monk the monk was irritated the caravans had been stopped at giza for some time waiting for the wars to end but god's will be done the monk said exactly answered the alchemist when the pan had cooled the monk and the boy looked at it dazzled the lead had dried into the shape of the pan but it was no longer lead it was gold will i learn to do that someday the boy asked this was my personal legend not yours the alchemist answered but i wanted to show you that it was possible they returned to the gates of the monastery there the alchemist separated the disc into four parts this is for you he said holding one of the parts out to the monk it's for your generosity to the pilgrims but this payment goes well beyond my generosity the monk responded don't say that again life might be listening and give you less the next time the alchemist turned to the boy this is for you to make up for what you gave to the general the boy was about to say that it was much more than he'd given to the general but he kept quiet because he had heard what the alchemist said to the monk and this is for me said the alchemist keeping one of the parts because i have to return to the desert where there are tribal wars he took the fourth part and handed it to the monk this is for the boy if he ever needs it but i'm going in search of my treasure the boy said i'm very close to it now and i'm certain you'll find it the alchemist said then why this because you have already lost your savings twice once to the thief and once to the general i'm an old superstitious arab and i believe in our proverbs there's one that says everything that happens once can never happen again but everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time they mounted their horses i want to tell you a story about dreams said the alchemist the boy brought his horse closer in ancient rome at the time of emperor tiberius there lived a good man who had two sons one was in the military and had been sent to the most distant regions of the empire the other son was a poet and delighted all of rome with his beautiful verses one night the father had a dream an angel appeared to him and told him that the words of one of his sons would be learned and repeated throughout the world for all generations to come the father woke from his dream grateful and crying because life was generous and had revealed to him something any father would be proud to know shortly thereafter the father died as he tried to save a child who was about to be crushed by the wheels of a chariot since he had lived his entire life in a manner that was correct and fair he went directly to heaven where he met the angel that had appeared in his dream you were always a good man the angel said to him you lived your life in a loving way and died with dignity i can now grant you any wish you desire life was good to me the man said when you appeared in my dream i felt that all my efforts had been rewarded because my son's poems will be read by men for generations to come i don't want anything for myself but any father would be proud of the fame achieved by one whom he had cared for as a child and educated as he grew up sometime in the distant future i would like to see my son's words the angel touched the man's shoulder and they were both projected fired to the future they were in an immense setting surrounded by thousands of people speaking in a strange language the man wept with happiness i knew that my son's poems were immortal he said to the angel through his tears can you please tell me which of my son's poems these people are repeating the angel came closer to the man and with tenderness led him to a bench nearby where they sat down the verses of your son who was the poet were very popular in rome the angel said everybody loved them and enjoyed them but when the reign of tiberius ended his poems were forgotten the words you're hearing now are those of your son in the military the man looked at the angel in surprise your son went to serve at a distant place and became a centurion he was just and good one afternoon one of his servants fell ill and it appeared that he would die your son had heard of a rabbi who was able to cure illnesses and he rode out for days and days in search of this man along the way he learned that the man he was seeking was the son of god he met others who had been cured by him and they instructed your son in the man's teachings and so despite the fact he was a roman centurion he converted to their faith shortly thereafter he reached the place where the man he was looking for was visiting he told the man that one of his servants was gravely ill and the rabbi made ready to go to his house with him but the centurion was a man of faith and looking into the eyes of the rabbi he knew that he was surely in the presence of the son of god and this is what your son said the angel told the man these are the words he said to the rabbi at that point and they have never been forgotten my lord i am not worthy that you should come under my roof but only speak a word and my servant will be healed the alchemist said no matter what he does every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world and normally he doesn't know it the boy smiled he had never imagined that questions about life would be of such importance to a shepherd goodbye the alchemist said goodbye said the boy the boy rode along through the desert for several hours listening avidly to what his heart had to say it was his heart that would tell him where his treasure was hidden where your treasure is there also will be your heart the alchemist had told him but his heart was speaking of other things with pride it told the story of a shepherd who had left his flock to follow a dream he had on two different occasions it told of personal legend and of the many men who had wandered in search of distant lands or beautiful women confronting the people of their times with their preconceived notions it spoke of journeys discoveries books and change as he was about to climb yet another dune his heart whispered be aware of the place where you are brought to tears that's where i am and that's where your treasure is the boy climbed the dune slowly a full moon rose again in the starry sky it had been a month since he had set forth from the oasis the moonlight cast shadows through the dunes creating the appearance of a rolling sea it reminded the boy of the day that the horse had reared in the desert and he had come to know the alchemist and the moon fell on the desert silence and on a man's journey in search of treasure when he reached the top of the dune his heart leapt there illuminated by the light of the moon and the brightness of the desert stood the solemn and majestic pyramids of egypt the boy fell to his knees and wept he thanked god for making him believe in his personal legend and for leading him to meet a king a merchant an englishman and an alchemist and above all for his having met a woman of the desert who had told him that love would never keep a man from his personal legend if he wanted to he could now return to the oasis go back to fatima and live his life as a simple shepherd after all the alchemist continued to live in the desert even though he understood the language of the world and knew how to transform lead into gold he didn't need to demonstrate his science and art to anyone the boy told himself that on the way toward realizing his own personal legend he had learned all he needed to know and had experienced everything he might have dreamed of but here he was at the point of finding his treasure and he reminded himself that no project is completed until its objective has been achieved the boy looked at the sands around him and saw that where his tears had fallen a scarab beetle was scuttling through the sand during his time in the desert he had learned that in egypt the scarab beetles are a symbol of god another omen the boy began to dig into the dune as he did so he thought of what the crystal merchant had once said that anyone could build a pyramid in his backyard the boy could see now that he couldn't do so if he placed stone upon stone for the rest of his life throughout the night the boy dug at the place he had chosen but found nothing he felt weighted down by the centuries of time since the pyramids had been built but he didn't stop he struggled to continue digging as he fought the wind which often blew the sand back into the excavation his hands were abraded and exhausted but he listened to his heart it had told him to dig where his tears fell as he was attempting to pull out the rocks he encountered he heard footsteps several figures approached him their backs were to the moonlight and the boy could see neither their eyes nor their faces what you doing here one of the figures demanded because he was terrified the boy didn't answer he had found where his treasure was and was frightened of what might happen we're refugees from the tribal wars and we need money the other figure said what are you hiding there i'm not hiding anything the boy answered but one of them seized the boy and yanked him back out of the hole another who was searching the boy's bags found the piece of gold there's gold here he said the moon shone on the face of the arab who had seized him and in the man's eyes the boy saw death he's probably got more gold hidden in the ground they made the boy continue digging but he found nothing as the sun rose the men began to beat the boy he was bruised and bleeding his clothing was torn to shreds and he felt the death was near what good is money to you if you're gonna die it's not often that money can save someone's life the alchemist had said finally the boy screamed at the men i'm digging for treasure and although his mouth was bleeding and swollen he told his attackers that he had twice dreamed of a treasure hidden near the pyramids of egypt the man who appeared to be the leader of the group spoke to one of the others leave him he doesn't have anything else he must have stolen this gold the boy fell to the sand nearly unconscious the leader shook him and said we're leaving but before they left he came back to the boy and said you're not gonna die you'll live and you'll learn that a man shouldn't be so stupid two years ago right here on this spot i had a recurrent dream too i dreamed that i should travel to the fields of spain and look for a ruined church where shepherds and their sheep slept in my dream there was a sycamore growing out of the ruins of the sacristy and i was told that if i dug at the roots of the sycamore i would find a hidden treasure i'm not so stupidest across an entire desert just because of her current dream and they disappeared the boy stood up shakily and looked once more of the pyramids they seemed to laugh at him and he laughed back his heart bursting with joy because now he knew where his treasure was the boy reached the small abandoned church just as night was falling the sycamore was still there in the sacristy and the stars could still be seen through the half-destroyed roof he remembered the time he had been there with his sheep it had been a peaceful night except for the dream now he was here not with his flock but with a shovel he sat looking at the sky for a long time then he took from his knapsack a bottle of wine and drank some he remembered the night in the desert when he had sat with the alchemist as they looked at the stars and drank wine together he thought of the many roads he had traveled and of the strange way god had chosen to show him his treasure if he hadn't believed in the significance of recurrent dreams he would not have met the gypsy woman the king the thief or well it's a long list but the path was written in the omens and there was no way i could go wrong he said to himself he fell asleep and when he awoke the sun was already high he began to dig at the base of the sycamore you old sorcerer the boy shouted up to the sky you knew the whole story you even left a bit of gold at the monastery so i could get back to this church the monk laughed when he saw me come back in tatters couldn't you have saved me from that no he heard the voice on the wind say if i've told you you wouldn't have seen the pyramids they're beautiful aren't they the boy smiled and continued digging half an hour later his shovel hit something solid an hour later he had before him a chest of spanish gold coins there were also precious stones gold masks adorned with red and white feathers and stone statues embedded with jewels the spoils of a conquest that the country had long ago forgotten and that some conquistador had failed to tell his children about the boy took out urim and thumim from his bag he had used the stones only once one morning when he was at a marketplace his life and his path had always provided him with enough omens he placed urim and thumim in the chest they were also a part of his new treasure because they were a reminder of the old king whom he would never see again it's true life really is generous to those who pursue their personal legend the boy thought then he remembered that he had to get to tarifa so he could give one tenth of his treasure to the gypsy woman as he had promised those gypsies are really smart he thought maybe it was because they moved around so much the wind began to blow again it was the levanta the wind that came from africa it didn't bring with it the smell of the desert nor the threat of moorish invasion instead it brought the scent of a perfume he knew well and the touch of a kiss a kiss that came from far away slowly slowly until it rested on his lips the boy smiled it was the first time she had done that i'm coming fatima he said you

Channel: Doses Of English

Views: 40,718

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Id: MmogyhM2sCE

Length: 239min 22sec (14362 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 19 2021