"i'm going to guide you across the desert," the alchemist said.

"i want to stay at the oasis," the boy answered. "i've 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 counselor 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 palms. 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 destiny. you'll walk around, night after night, at the oasis, and fatima will be unhappy because she'll feel it was 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've 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 destiny, and that now it's too late.

"you must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. if he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love… the love that speaks the language of the world."

the alchemist erased 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 destiny.

"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 to 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 counselor 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 that 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," fatima 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 farther 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.