The Alchemist

He knew how to speak Esperanto, he understood all the major religions well, but he wasn't yet an alchemist.

"He lives at the Al-Fayoum oasis," his friend had said.

He said that he had always dreamed of being a shepherd, and that it was a good omen."

That wind had brought the Moors, yes, but it had also brought the smell of the desert and of veiled women.

First he had studied Esperanto, then the world's religions, and now it was alchemy.

He called to the boy, and they took a walk along the dunes surrounding the encampment.

*
The crystal merchant awoke with the day, and felt the same anxiety that he felt every morning.

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.

The scabbard was embossed in silver, and the handle was black and encrusted with precious stones.

The scabbard was embossed in silver, and the handle was black and encrusted with precious stones.

"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.'

His hands were abraded and exhausted, but he listened to his heart.

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.

"It describes people's inability to choose their own destinies.

Astride the animal was a horseman dressed completely in black, with a falcon perched on his left shoulder.

It drew a droplet of blood.

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.

But for the past few days he had spoken to them about only one thing: the girl, the daughter of a merchant who lived in the village they would reach in about four days.

Now everything was quite different from how it was that day they had set out: then, there had been confusion and shouting, the cries of children and the whinnying of animals, all mixed with the nervous orders of the guides and the merchants.

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.

The boy was surprised, and then irritated.

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.

He transformed himself into a stone that rolled up to the miner's foot.

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.

The miner had abandoned everything to go mining for emeralds.

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.

"There are rumors of tribal wars," he told them.

It was only the Englishman who was unaware of all this; he was, for the most part, immersed in reading his books.

Thinking about that for a moment, he realized that it could be the other way around: that it was he who had become accustomed to their schedule.

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

The monk laughed when he saw me come back in tatters.

It was said that he was more than two hundred years old, and that he had discovered the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life.

He had had the same dream that night as a week ago, and once again he had awakened before it ended.

The boy looked at the sands around him, and saw that, where his tears had fallen, a scarab beetle was scuttling through the sand.

"You mean I should listen, even if it's treasonous?"

"Everything in the universe evolved," he said.

The alchemist erased the circle in the sand, and the snake slithered away among the rocks.

The spoils of a conquest that the country had long ago forgotten, and that some conquistador had failed to tell his children about.

He looked to the skies, feeling a bit abashed, and said, "I know it's the vanity of vanities, as you said, my Lord.

The atmosphere was suffused with the sweet scent of smoke.

Thinking about that for a moment, he realized that it could be the other way around: that it was he who had become accustomed to their schedule.

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.

A monk dressed in black came to the gates.

"I can see things that eyes habituated to the desert might not see."

They were known as seers, and they were held in fear by women and the elderly.

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.

"I didn't come here to have you read my palm," he said, already regretting having come.

But the marketplace was empty, and he was far from home, so he wept.

Beginner's luck."

He had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed.

The Soul of the World is nourished by people's happiness.

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 sat on a stone, and allowed himself to become hypnotized by the horizon.

"And suddenly, the child took me by both hands and transported me to the Egyptian pyramids."

"Be careful with your prognostications," said the stranger.

When they reached the white tent at the center of Al-Fayoum, they withdrew their scimitars and rifles.

What could it cost to go over to the supplier's warehouse and find out if the Pyramids were really that far away?

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.

Looking up, he saw a pair of hawks flying high in the sky.

He repeated his story about Joseph of Egypt, and asked the boy to become the counselor of the oasis.

The boy watched it through its trajectory for some time, until it was hidden behind the white houses surrounding the plaza.

"And dreams are the language of God.

That way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow."

He had always believed that the sheep were able to understand what he said.

A small sliver of the stone can transform large quantities of metal into gold."

The boy was startled.

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

So the boy was disappointed; he decided that he would never again believe in dreams.

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.

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.

" 'Your son went to serve at a distant place, and became a centurion.

They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now.

The boy prodded them, one by one, with his crook, calling each by name.

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 had suddenly remembered that, in Tarifa, there was an old woman who interpreted dreams.

But one of them seized the boy and yanked him back out of the hole.

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.

Everywhere there were stalls with items for sale.

"It's the Emerald Tablet," said the Englishman, proud that he might teach something to the boy.

They were men of the desert, and they were fearful of sorcerers.

"Those people, when they see our land, say that they would like to live here forever," his father continued.

In that part of the world, it was called the sirocco, because it brought moisture from the oceans to the east.

The boy waited, and then interrupted the old man just as he himself had been interrupted.

The same hand that had brandished the sword now held a whip.

The scabbard was embossed in silver, and the handle was black and encrusted with precious stones.

*
The boy rode along through the desert for several hours, listening avidly to what his heart had to say.

"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.'

The boy reminded the old man that he had said something about hidden treasure.

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).

The boy was surprised, and then irritated.

The old man pointed to a baker standing in his shop window at one corner of the plaza.

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.

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.

The tribal chieftains were seated at the back of the tent in a semicircle, resting upon richly embroidered silk cushions.

But if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand.

He had had the same dream that night as a week ago, and once again he had awakened before it ended.

But finally the merchant appeared, and asked the boy to shear four sheep.

It was a cobra, whose venom could kill a person in minutes.

Arabs often appeared in the city, shopping and chanting their strange prayers several times a day.

In two years he had learned everything about shepherding: he knew how to shear sheep, how to care for pregnant ewes, and how to protect the sheep from wolves.

It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.

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.

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.

Chapter Of Contents
Chapter Of Contents 1
PART ONE 1
PART TWO 18
EPILOGUE 62


PART ONE
The boy's name was Santiago .

He must be disguised to avoid encounters with thieves.

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.

The old man related that, the week before, he had been forced to appear before a miner, and had taken the form of a stone.

When the boy left the tent, the oasis was illuminated only by the light of the full moon.

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.

Africa was only a few hours from Tarifa; one had only to cross the narrow straits by boat.

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.

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.

*
The horizon was tinged with red, and suddenly the sun appeared.

The men were terrified at his sorcery.

Relaxed and unhurried, he resolved that he would walk through the narrow streets of Tangier.

His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

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.

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.

The boy thought about that for a while as he looked at the moon and the bleached sands.

They were both silent for a time, observing the plaza and the townspeople.

He had been in the same place for thirty years: a shop at the top of a hilly street where few customers passed.

The alchemist lighted the fire, and the monk brought him some lead, which the alchemist placed in an iron pan.

The boy mumbled an answer that allowed him to avoid responding to her question.

Fatima went back to her tent, and, when daylight came, she went out to do the chores she had done for years.

"In any case, it's good that you've learned that everything in life has its price.

I wanted to sleep a little longer, he thought.

And he knew that shepherds, like seamen and like traveling salesmen, always found a town where there was someone who could make them forget the joys of carefree wandering.

*
"I need to sell some wool," the boy told the merchant.

He called to the boy, and they took a walk along the dunes surrounding the encampment.

You'll watch them as they grow, demonstrating how the world is always changing.

He was excited, and at the same time uneasy: maybe the girl had already forgotten him.

But in the crystal shop you probably realized that even the glasses were collaborating in your success."

The sheep fidgeted nearby, uneasy with their new owner and excited by so much change.

"A practice of infidels," he said to himself.

But in his heart he knew that it did matter.

That he had attended a seminary until he was sixteen.

I should have repeated it for him.

They provided warnings about thieves and barbarian tribes.

The third said that it was a tradition in the Orient to use crystal glasses for tea because it had magical powers.

And the leader posted armed sentinels at the fringes of the group.

It wasn't exactly that they were secrets; God revealed his secrets easily to all his creatures.

Then, like a colony of worker ants, they dismantled their stalls and left.

"Why would a king be talking with a shepherd?" the boy asked, awed and embarrassed.

The boy mumbled an answer that allowed him to avoid responding to her question.

"But there's a tribal war," the boy reiterated.

He had heard people speak of mirages, and had already seen some himself: they were desires that, because of their intensity, materialized over the sands of the desert.

"I learned the science from my grandfather, who learned from his father, and so on, back to the creation of the world.

Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create?

"Because there is a force that wants you to realize your destiny; it whets your appetite with a taste of success."

The animals were exhausted, and the men talked among themselves less and less.

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 don't want to realize them.

There was no need to imprison them: the Arabs simply confiscated their horses.

I don't like people to do that, because the sheep are afraid of strangers.

The girl dropped the container, and the water spilled.

"Hmm…" said the old man, looking at all sides of the book, as if it were some strange object.

Maybe we're all that way, the boy mused.

Dusk was falling as the boy arrived with his herd at an abandoned church.

"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.

"Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls.

The alchemist was a bit daunting, but, as the boy drank the wine, he relaxed.

The boy went back to contemplating the silence of the desert, and the sand raised by the animals.

He was sitting in a bar very much like the other bars he had seen along the narrow streets of Tangier.

"First, swear to me.

"They are so used to me that they know my schedule," he muttered.

It was a cobra, whose venom could kill a person in minutes.

But he wanted to know what the "mysterious force" was; the merchant's daughter would be impressed when he told her about that!

His heart squeezed, as if his chest had suddenly compressed it.

He had always believed that the sheep were able to understand what he said.

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.

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.

The boy watched it through its trajectory for some time, until it was hidden behind the white houses surrounding the plaza.

The horseman was completely immobile, as was the boy.

Toward the end of the afternoon, they came upon a Coptic monastery.

The tents were being blown from their ties to the earth, and the animals were being freed from their tethers.

Then he realized that he had been distracted for a few moments, looking at the sword.

One by one, the campfires were extinguished, and the oasis fell as quiet as the desert.

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.

We have to be prepared for change, he thought, and he was grateful for the jacket's weight and warmth.

*
"I need to sell some wool," the boy told the merchant.

He recognized that he was feeling something he had never experienced before: the desire to live in one place forever.

They were used to the ravages of war, and knew that the wind could not deliver them a fatal blow.

The animals balked at such places, and the camel drivers were forced to dismount and unburden their charges.

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.

But as he held Urim and Thummim in his hand, they had transmitted to him the strength and will of the old king.

Camels are traitorous: they walk thousands of paces and never seem to tire.

Africa was only a few hours from Tarifa; one had only to cross the narrow straits by boat.

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.

If the sand was too fine for the animals' hooves, they sought a way where the sand was more substantial.

But he had been making risky bets ever since the day he had sold his sheep to pursue his destiny.

He wore a turban and his entire face, except for his eyes, was covered with a black kerchief.

As long as the boy knew how to find the best pastures in Andalusia , they would be his friends.

*
"Why do they make things so complicated?" he asked the Englishman one night.

But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."

There was a moment of silence so profound that it seemed the city was asleep.

The merchant put some new coals in the hookah, and inhaled deeply.

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.

"You have a mania for simplifying everything," answered the Englishman, irritated.

Dusk was falling as the boy arrived with his herd at an abandoned church.

And he vanished around the corner of the plaza.

" 'Then go back and observe the marvels of my world,' said the wise man.

There was no need to imprison them: the Arabs simply confiscated their horses.

The alchemist was a bit daunting, but, as the boy drank the wine, he relaxed.

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.

He had learned that there were certain things one shouldn't ask about, so as not to flee from one's own destiny.

"And people say that he is two hundred years old, and is able to transform any metal into gold."

It's your mission on earth."

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 boy looked at the sands around him, and saw that, where his tears had fallen, a scarab beetle was scuttling through the sand.

Something was moving there, and the alchemist's eyes—the boy could see only his eyes-squinted with his effort.

Relaxed and unhurried, he resolved that he would walk through the narrow streets of Tangier.

But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man's sins.

The shepherd told her of the Andalusian countryside, and related the news from the other towns where he had stopped.

It told of destiny, 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.

They had been taking careful precautions in the desert, but the camel driver explained to the boy that oases were always considered to be neutral territories, because the majority of the inhabitants were women and children.

By coincidence—or maybe it was an omen, the boy thought—he came to the bar he had entered on his first day there.

It made me very depressed.

The boy was strong, and wanted to retaliate, but he was in a foreign country.

The snake fought frantically, making hissing sounds that shattered the silence of the desert.

They were solitary individuals who no longer believed in things, and didn't understand that shepherds become attached to their sheep.

"Because I don't live in either my past or my future.

To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation.

They never have to make any decisions, he thought.

"But my heart is agitated," the boy said.

The boy learned that the liquid part of the Master Work was called the Elixir of Life, and that it cured all illnesses; it also kept the alchemist from growing old.

He had never even wept in front of his own sheep.

"They are so used to me that they know my schedule," he muttered.

"Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls.

And he gave the boy his blessing.

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.

If he ever decided to leave them, they would suffer.

I'm seeking a true alchemist who will help me to decipher the codes."

*
The Englishman was sitting on a bench in a structure that smelled of animals, sweat, and dust; it was part warehouse, part corral.

The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy."

He didn't need to seek out the old woman for this!

He arose and, taking up his crook, began to awaken the sheep that still slept.

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.

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.

And I'm going to hold on to what little I have, because I'm too insignificant to conquer the world.

They called that discovery the Master Work—it was part liquid and part solid.

Lots of shepherds passed through, selling their wool.

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.

The area was swirling in dust so intense that it hid the moon from view.

But as he held Urim and Thummim in his hand, they had transmitted to him the strength and will of the old king.

"The fifth obligation of every Muslim is a pilgrimage.

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).

"Hunches," his mother used to call them.

It was a strange furnace, fueled by firewood, with a transparent flask heating on top.

When the blinding dust had settled a bit, the boy trembled at what he saw.

He smoked in silence, thinking of nothing, and listening to the sound of the wind that brought the scent of the desert.

The owner of the bar approached him, and the boy pointed to a drink that had been served at the next table.

He sat there, staring blankly through the door of the café, wishing that he had died, and that everything would end forever at that moment.

"Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive… and it has a soul.

"They're not my sheep anymore," he said to himself, without nostalgia.

"If I could, I'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the wordsluck andcoincidence.

"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.

He went on telling stories about his travels, and her bright, Moorish eyes went wide with fear and surprise.

A long note was sounded on a bugle, and everyone mounted up.

Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.

He must be disguised to avoid encounters with thieves.

"The oases may not shelter armies or troops."

I have never heard of them, but, if it was a child who showed them to you, they exist.

There was a babble of noise, and the leader had to repeat himself several times for everyone to understand what he was saying.

It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world.

*
Next morning, there were two thousand armed men scattered throughout the palm trees at Al-Fayoum.

"There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten.

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.

His heart beat fastest when it spoke to the boy of treasure, and more slowly when the boy stared entranced at the endless horizons of the desert.

"Fatima," the girl said, averting her eyes.

He had unraveled the truths behind important questions, but his studies had taken him to a point beyond which he could not seem to go.

They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives.

"In my travels around the world, I've often seen people speaking of love and looking toward the heavens," the wind said, furious at having to acknowledge its own limitations.

He spent the entire morning observing the infrequent comings and goings in the street.

Looking at the sun, he calculated that he would reach Tarifa before midday.

Since that morning in the marketplace, he had never again made use of Urim and Thummim, because Egypt was now just as distant a dream for him as was Mecca for the merchant.

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.

These stones were the only form of divination permitted by God.

There were thousands of people there, arguing, selling, and buying; vegetables for sale amongst daggers, and carpets displayed alongside tobacco.

He wore a turban and his entire face, except for his eyes, was covered with a black kerchief.

When the pan had cooled, the monk and the boy looked at it, dazzled.

On the very first page it described a burial ceremony.

"I can interpret it, but the interpretation is very difficult.

But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny."

He was proud of himself.

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.

There had been a time when many people knew of his shop: Arab merchants, French and English geologists, German soldiers who were always well-heeled.

The men were terrified at his sorcery.

He knelt down to find Urim and Thummim and put them back in the pouch.

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.

In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage.

The stranger withdrew the sword from the boy's forehead, and the boy felt immensely relieved.

The only things that concerned the sheep were food and water.

The heat lasted until nightfall, and all that time he had to carry his jacket.

For nearly a year, he had been working incessantly, thinking only of putting aside enough money so that he could return to Spain with pride.

He had heard people speak of mirages, and had already seen some himself: they were desires that, because of their intensity, materialized over the sands of the desert.

He had noticed that, as soon as he awoke, most of his animals also began to stir.

Then he took from his knapsack a bottle of wine, and drank some.

He recognized that he was feeling something he had never experienced before: the desire to live in one place forever.

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.

He struggled to continue digging as he fought the wind, which often blew the sand back into the excavation.

They had been taking careful precautions in the desert, but the camel driver explained to the boy that oases were always considered to be neutral territories, because the majority of the inhabitants were women and children.

"Business has really improved," he said to the boy, after the customer had left.

"
And, as he smothered the coals in the hookah, he told the boy that he could begin to sell tea in the crystal glasses.

They placed the symbols of the pilgrimage on the doors of their houses.

It was only the Englishman who was unaware of all this; he was, for the most part, immersed in reading his books.

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.

"Because it's not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind.

Suddenly, the elder at the center smiled almost imperceptibly, and the boy felt better.

"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."

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.

It seemed as if what the old king had called "beginner's luck" were no longer functioning.

I know its dimensions and how it behaves.

"The battles may last for a long time, perhaps even years.

He was planning, on this visit, to explain to the girl how it was that a simple shepherd knew how to read.

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.

"The alchemists spent years in their laboratories, observing the fire that purified the metals.

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.

"So you are going to instruct me?"

The boy mumbled an answer that allowed him to avoid responding to her question.

He was bruised and bleeding, his clothing was torn to shreds, and he felt that death was near.

But he was excited at his intuitive understanding of the camel driver's comment: maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people.

The black signifies 'yes,' and the white 'no.'

The boy knew what he was about to describe, though: the mysterious chain that links 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 destiny, the more that destiny becomes his true reason for being, thought the boy.

They traveled, spoke with wise men, performed miracles for the incredulous, and owned the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life.

The merchants were assembling their stalls, and the boy helped a candy seller to do his.

But he wanted to know what the "mysterious force" was; the merchant's daughter would be impressed when he told her about that!

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.

"Even if you cleaned 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.

"The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness.

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.

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.

His hands began to tremble, and the woman sensed it.

*
"I'm the leader of the caravan," said a dark-eyed, bearded man.

But finally the merchant appeared, and asked the boy to shear four sheep.

They spoke in an Arabic dialect that the boy didn't understand, but, when he made to leave, the guard told him to stay.

He transformed himself into a stone that rolled up to the miner's foot.

For nearly a year, he had been working incessantly, thinking only of putting aside enough money so that he could return to Spain with pride.

The boy was becoming nervous.

"I didn't come here to have you read my palm," he said, already regretting having come.

But the Englishman was exultant.

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.

All the joy he had seen that morning had suddenly disappeared.

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.

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.

Astride the animal was a horseman dressed completely in black, with a falcon perched on his left shoulder.

"I only invoked what you already knew."

There was also the merchant's daughter, but she wasn't as important as his flock, because she didn't depend on him.

So the boy was disappointed; he decided that he would never again believe in dreams.

But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny."

He went on telling stories about his travels, and her bright, Moorish eyes went wide with fear and surprise.

It's the other foreigner, the Englishman.

The day was hot, and the wine was refreshing.

He didn't consider mending the hole—the stones could fall through any time they wanted.

Before the boy could reply, a butterfly appeared and fluttered between him and the old man.

The boy was astonished by what he saw inside.

He sat there, staring blankly through the door of the café, wishing that he had died, and that everything would end forever at that moment.

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.

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.

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 boy was tempted to be rude, and move to another bench, but his father had taught him to be respectful of the elderly.

If a guide were to fall ill or die, the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one.

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.

Night fell, and an assortment of fighting men and merchants entered and exited the tent.

The next day, he gave his son a pouch that held three ancient Spanish gold coins.

The day was dawning, and the shepherd urged his sheep in the direction of the sun.

The men fell into an animated discussion.

When his vision returned to normal, the boy was able to read what the old man had written in the sand.

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.

I can pay you to serve as my guide."

Actually, he was thinking about shearing 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.

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.

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.

Something bright reflected from his chest with such intensity that the boy was momentarily blinded.

If a guide were to fall ill or die, the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one.

What he needed to do was review all he had learned over the years, because the alchemist would certainly put him to the test.

And the names of the people involved were very difficult to pronounce.

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.

"Isn't wine prohibited here?" the boy asked
"It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil," said the alchemist.

But let's say that the most important is that you have succeeded in discovering your destiny."

That's true enough, the boy thought, ruefully.

Then he said, "The Prophet gave us the Koran, and left us just five obligations to satisfy during our lives.

"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.

Some men were smoking from a gigantic pipe that they passed from one to the other.

But he was excited at his intuitive understanding of the camel driver's comment: maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people.

One of them, a cobbler who made his living mending boots, said that he had traveled for 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."

Thinking about that for a moment, he realized that it could be the other way around: that it was he who had become accustomed to their schedule.

Curse the moment I met that old man, he thought.

Then he realized that he had been distracted for a few moments, looking at the sword.

His hands began to tremble, and the woman sensed it.

Thinking about that for a moment, he realized that it could be the other way around: that it was he who had become accustomed to their schedule.

Today, I understand something I didn't see before: every blessing ignored becomes a curse.

"We could place it outside, and attract those people who pass at the bottom of the hill."

If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.

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.

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.

He loosened the reins on his horse, who galloped forward over the rocks and sand.

The old man, meanwhile, was leafing through the book, without seeming to want to return it at all.

He was surprised when he saw that the Englishman had built himself a furnace outside his tent.

They trust me, and they've forgotten how to rely on their own instincts, because I lead them to nourishment.

Or marry the daughter of a textile merchant?"

The owner of the bar approached him, and the boy pointed to a drink that had been served at the next table.

"So, what is Salem like?" he asked, trying to get some sort of clue.

Nevertheless, the merchant decided to delay his lunch for a few minutes until the boy moved on.

He recalled that when the sun had risen that morning, he was on another continent, still a shepherd with sixty sheep, and looking forward to meeting with a girl.

"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.

*
The horizon was tinged with red, and suddenly the sun appeared.

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.

Like crickets, and like expectations; like lizards and four-leaf clovers.

"Always heed the omens," the old king had said.

Some of them were things that he had already experienced, and weren't really new, but that he had never perceived before.

And the boy sat there by the well for a long time, remembering that one day in Tarifa the levanter had brought to him the perfume of that woman, and realizing that he had loved her before he even knew she existed.

They had been taking careful precautions in the desert, but the camel driver explained to the boy that oases were always considered to be neutral territories, because the majority of the inhabitants were women and children.

It was still dark when he awoke, and, looking up, he could see the stars through the half-destroyed roof.

The room's furnishings consisted of a table, an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and two chairs.

*
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.

This is what the Warriors of the Light try to teach."

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.

The boy knew what he was about to describe, though: the mysterious chain that links 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 destiny, the more that destiny becomes his true reason for being, thought the boy.

He knew everything about each member of his flock: he knew which ones were lame, which one was to give birth two months from now, and which were the laziest.

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.

That's why I have to live off what my daughters provide me with."

The boy, too, had his book, and he had tried to read it during the first few days of the journey.

No sound from the bazaars, no arguments among the merchants, no men climbing to the towers to chant.

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.

The roof had fallen in long ago, and an enormous sycamore had grown on the spot where the sacristy had once stood.

It sounded like a Gypsy prayer.

"It's what you have always wanted to accomplish.

He was excited, and at the same time uneasy: maybe the girl had already forgotten him.

"We're refugees from the tribal wars, and we need money," the other figure said.

It seemed as if what the old king had called "beginner's luck" were no longer functioning.

Then, with a motion that startled the boy, he withdrew his arm and leaped to his feet.

"You have a mania for simplifying everything," answered the Englishman, irritated.

And the names of the people involved were very difficult to pronounce.

A long note was sounded on a bugle, and everyone mounted up.

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.