The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Page B

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 tribesmen 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 tribesmen 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 seers. 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.
    â€œWell . . . so I can do things,” he had responded. “And so I can change those things that I don’t want to happen.”
    â€œBut then they wouldn’t be a part of your future,” the seer had said.
    â€œWell, maybe I just want to know the future so I can prepare myself for what’s coming.”
    â€œIf 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.”
    â€œI want to know about the future because I’m a man,” the camel driver had said to the seer. “And men always live 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 bag.
    â€œI 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.
    â€œWhen 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 that 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.
    â€œOnly 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?
    â€œGo and speak to the tribal chieftains,” said the camel driver. “Tell them about the armies that are approaching.”
    â€œThey’ll laugh at me.”
    â€œThey are men of the desert, and the men of the desert are used to dealing with omens.”
    â€œWell, then, they probably already know.”
    â€œThey’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.
    â€œI want to see the