PART TWO Summary (continued)

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Summary

The boy is impressed with the size of the oasis which is larger than many towns in Spain. Also, he notices that no precautions are being taken against the tribal wars. The camel driver explains that this is because oases are considered neutral territories since most of their inhabitants are women and children. The members of the caravan must stay at the oasis until the tribal wars are over and will be given the best accommodations according to the law of hospitality. However, no one will be allowed to carry weapons. The Englishman hands over a revolver and when Santiago asks why he was carrying it, the man replies that it helped him to trust people. As for Santiago, he is aware that the closer he gets to his treasure, the less his beginner's luck is working. He is constantly being subjected to tests of persistence and courage. He knows he must be patient or he will miss the signs and omens placed in his path by God. He is amazed that he now knows it was God who placed them there, because he thought them to be the things of the world. He had never thought of them as a language used by God to tell him what to do.

The next day, the Englishman comes looking for Santiago to help him find the Alchemist. They search for awhile, but realize that the oasis is too large and they must ask for help. Santiago tries to speak with a woman who comes to fill her jug at the well, but she has no answers and only warns him not to speak with women dressed in black, who are married women. They decide that asking for an alchemist is the wrong way to approach the search and that they should ask for someone who cures illnesses.

A man who comes to the well knows that the one they are asking about is the very powerful one and that you can only see him when he consents to a meeting. Then, a young woman approaches the well. She is not dressed in black and when Santiago sees her face, he feels the Soul of the World surge within him. He suddenly has learned the most important part of the language that the entire world speaks and that is the fact that everyone on earth is capable of understanding their heart. It is love. Her smile is an omen to him, an omen he has been waiting for his whole life. His further understanding is that when you know the language, it's easy to realize that there is someone in the world awaiting you and that this truth has been written by the hand of God.

Santiago learns that her name is Fatima, the name of the daughter of the prophet, Mohammed. She knows all about the Alchemist and says he communicates with the genies of the desert, the spirits of both good and evil. She points them to the south to find his dwelling place. The Englishman heads south, but Santiago stays at the well, dreaming about how his love for Fatima will enable him to discover every treasure in the world. The next day, he returns to the well hoping to see Fatima, but meets up with the Englishman instead.

The Englishman tells Santiago that just as the first stars of the evening were coming out, the Alchemist came to him and told him, if he wanted to discover how to transform lead to gold, he should go and try. Santiago repeats this advice and the Englishman tells the boy that's exactly what he's going to do. Just then, Fatima returns to the well and the boy tells her that he wants her to be his wife and that he loves her. He tells her he will return here every day and decides to himself that even if the war ends and he can leave the oasis, he will not, because she is more important than his treasure. Eventually, the leader of the caravan tells them they may be there a very long time, because the war is about two forces fighting for the balance of power and that kind of battle lasts longer than others - Allah is on both sides.

Santiago tells Fatima what the caravan leader said and she tells him that he has taught her about the universal language and the Soul of the World. As a result, she believes she has become a part of him. The desert has brought her a wonderful present. However, she says, that he must continue toward his goal, because like the desert, which never changes, neither will their love for each other. If she is really a part of his dream, he will come back one day.

The next day, Santiago tells Fatima how the wives of the shepherds had a difficult time understanding why their men had to go far distances. Fatima says that women in the desert know that the desert takes their men away from them, sometimes forever, but they also know that if they don't return, they are a part of everything and become part of the Soul of the World. If they do come back, it makes the wives of all those still missing smile, but it gives them hope that their men may one day return. She says she can accept that and become one of those who wait.

Santiago is so happy by what Fatima has told him that he returns to the Englishman's tent to tell him all about her. He finds the older man outside his tent where he has set up a furnace with a transparent flask heating on top. The Englishman tells the boy that he is in the middle of the first phase of the job that the Alchemist had told him to start. He is separating out sulfur and to do that successfully, he must have no fear of failure. If he had only realized this ten years before, he wouldn't have wasted so much time attempting the Master Work. However, he is grateful because he didn't waste another ten years.

Santiago goes out into the desert to think about love and to try to separate it from possession. He believes the desert will help him understand this concept. Then, he sees above him two hawks flying smoothly in tandem. Suddenly, one of the hawks dives and attacks the other and the boy has a vision of two armies, swords at the ready, riding into the oasis. He wants to just forget about the vision, but he remembers again that the old king had told him to always heed the omens. He senses that what he has seen is going to occur and he is struck by the thought that now the desert is safe and the oasis has become dangerous.

Santiago goes to the camel driver and tells him about the vision and the man believes him, because he knows that any given thing on the face of the earth could reveal the history of all things. He is reminded of the time that he had sought out the oldest seer he had ever known who was interested in why the camel driver wanted to see the future. The seer told the camel driver that he didn't really see the future; he just guessed at it based on the omens of today.

The secret, he told him, is in the present and each day brings with it an eternity. The only circumstances under which God reveals the future are those under which it can be altered. Because of this encounter, the camel driver tells Santiago to speak to the tribal chieftains and tell them the armies are approaching. The camel driver thinks they will believe Santiago, because they know that Allah often sends someone else when he wants them to know something.

Notes

The major lesson of this section involves the concept of omens. Santiago has finally realized that he must be patient and God will send him the omens he needs to proceed to his treasure. He is content, therefore, to remain on the oasis until an omen changes the course of his life. One of the course changes involves Fatima with whom he falls in love. What is so special about her is her willingness to wait for him until he has achieved his treasure. She is an omen of goodness for the future. The Englishman's new work habit that involves actually beginning the Master Work rather than just reading about how to do it is yet another omen of the idea that it's never too late to find your Personal Legend. Finally, the omen of the hawks and the vision which follows it is an important concept about how the universe will help you find your Personal Legend if you are only willing to work for it. If the oasis is invaded by the warriors, Santiago and the Englishman and Fatima and all those who live there may never find their own treasures. God is surely leading Santiago down the right path.