+ 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 had 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 had +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 tribesmen 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 fifteen +minutes he spent with her, each day seemed that it would never +pass. When he had been at the oasis for almost a month, the leader +of the caravan called a meeting of all of 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 present has arrived, and it’s you.” +The boy wanted to take her hand. But Fatima’s hands held to the +handles of her jug. +
+ + +