Al-Chemist

A shepherd boy named as “Santiago” lives in Andalusia. Hi studies Latin,

Spanish and Theology as his parents wants to make him Priest, but he ended his
studies prematurely because he wants to visit the world.

He saw a dream that he fell in love with girl who was daughter of a merchant of
sheep’s wool, he found a treasure and so on. Once he passed from a house of a
woman, who was a dream interpreter. Santiago meets her and tells her whole
dream. She said him that she will interpret his dream on one condition: She
won't charge him any money, but Santiago has to share with her one-tenth of
any treasure he finds. Santiago agrees. She said he has to travel a pyramid
where he will find a treasure. Santiago leaves her house upset and disappointed.
He claims that he will never again believe in dreams.

One day, in a local market, Santiago met with a old man, “Melchizedek” King
of Selem.  He offers to help Santiago find the hidden treasure in exchange for
one-tenth of his sheep. Melchizedek explains that Santiago has discovered his
Personal Legend, which he defines as "what you have always wanted to
accomplish. He advice him to follow his Personal Legend and give him 2 stones
black and white which will help him to chose final option. He sells all his sheep
flocks and starts his journey to Egypt.

When he reaches in Morocco, he robbed by barbers, he lost his all money,

there he meets with a person who heired him on his crystal’s store and advice
him to earn money and go back to Andalusia, because he can’t continue his
journey to Egypt even he earns for years. Santiago suggests him to display his
crystal object outside store to attract more customers, merchant hesitates but he
convinced. After a month, there is a significant increment in his sales and profit.
Santiago suggests him to sell tea in his crystals because tourist will attract more
when they come up and need for tea. This thing makes his business very
successful. After eleven months, he has earned enough money to go buy a ticket
for Andalusia and can buy double flocks of sheep. But he decides to continue
his journey with help of stones.

A person named as “Englishman” who spent a decade at a university trying to

find the one true language of the universe. he studied Esperanto, an
international language, then religions of the world, and finally alchemy. He
awaits the departure of a caravan for Egypt. He hopes to travel through the
Sahara desert to the Al-Fayoum oasis on the way there, the home of a two-
hundred-year-old alchemist who can turn any metal into gold.

After meeting the Englishman, Santiago removes Urim and Thummim from his
pocket and is surprised when the Englishman shouts their names. The
Englishman tells Santiago that the stones aren't valuable, then removes two
identical stones from his own pocket. Santiago tells him that the stones came
from a king, a fact which the Englishman is not surprised to learn.

Santiago and the Englishman join the caravan, which consists of over two
hundred people. According to Englishman, there is nothing such as
“Coincidence”. At night, the camel driver tells Santiago about his former life as
a farmer outside Cairo with an orchard full of fruit. He had children and land
and he took an opportunity to make the same pilgrimage to Mecca. The Nile
flooded its banks, destroying his fruit trees and forcing him to become a camel
driver. he learned a painful but important lesson: There is no need to fear the
unknown if you can achieve what you need to survive.

Caravan reaches to Oasis, Santiago notices happiness of travellers. Omens have

told the alchemist that an important man arrived with the caravan. He is
supposed to teach this man the secrets of alchemy. Englishman starts asking
about alchemist to several people but no one knows. Santiago next approaches a
pretty young woman by a well. Her head is covered, but not her face. Instead of
asking her where the alchemist lives he lost his self in love of lady. Prodded by
the Englishman, Santiago puts aside his feelings for the girl, whose name is
Fatima, and asks her where the man who treats illness of people, she directs
them toward south. Englishman disappears to find Alchemist while Santiago
remains at well.

Next day Santiago again comes on well, Englishman comes there and tells him
that he finds alchemist and he said him to try to learn how to convert metal into
gold. When Englishman leaves, Fatima arrives at the well. Santiago tells her
that he loves her and wants her to be his wife. Fatima drops her jug and spills
some water.

After a month at the oasis, the caravan leader calls all the travellers together and
tells them that because the tribal war is still raging, they won't be able to travel
any further. Santiago searches for the Englishman and discovers that he has
built a wood-burning furnace outside his tent. The Englishman tells Santiago
that he is completing the first phase of alchemy, separating out the sulphur.
Next day, during walk Santiago sees a veiled man with turban runs on white
towards him, he attacks on his forehead by sword; Santiago doesn’t move or
feels fear. That man is Al-chemist, “I had to check your courage” Alchemist
says. Next day a tribe attacks on oasis, but they kill all his men instead of one
who was their commander with help of suggestions which gave by Santiago.
People of oasis award him with 50 pieces of gold and ask him to be counsellor
of oasis.

Alchemist encourages Santiago to follow his Personal Legend and provides his
companionship. Santiago goes to Fatima and she owns his unconditional love
and she is sure that he’ll come back. Alchemist and Santiago continue silently
cross desert toward pyramid. When tribes found them they introduce themselves
as chemist and the allow them to pass. But one tribe arrest them, Alchemist
introduce Santiago, commander asks Santiago to perform alchemy, alchemist
answers that in three days, Santiago will transform himself into the wind. "If he
can't do so," they will give their lives to tribe.

Santiago is furious. How can the alchemist have set him up to do something of
which he is incapable? The alchemist calmly explains that "If a person is living
out his Personal Legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only
one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

On the third day, Santiago brings the tribal chief and his officers to the cliff. He
looks across the desert, and this time Santiago asks for the desert's help in
becoming the wind. The desert replies that it can provide its sand to help the
wind blow, but no more; the desert needs assistance from the wind itself. The
wind knows what the boy needs but regretfully tells him, "We're two very
different things.” He protests that he and the wind aren't very different at all. For
one thing, they share the same soul. Santiago tells it, "When you are loved, you
can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to
understand what's happening because everything happens within you, and even
men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps, of course."
Suggesting that Santiago ask heaven for help, the wind then creates an
enormous sand storm called a simum.

Now Santiago beseeches the sun to help him turn into the wind, for the sake of
love, he says. The sun acknowledges that it knows about love. The sun decides
to transform itself into something better: a brighter sun. Still the sun can't turn
Santiago himself into the wind. Finally, Santiago reached through to the Soul of
the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the
Soul of God was his own soul. And that he could perform miracles. Once he has
connected to the Soul of God, Santiago is indeed able to transform himself into
the wind. The alchemist is pleased, the tribal commander is impressed, and
Santiago is relieved; his life is spared and he can continue to pursue his Personal
Legend and find the hidden treasure.

General provides them a guide to escort them out of the encampment. At the
end of the day, they come upon a Coptic Christian monastery. The alchemist
uses the monastery's kitchen to perform the art of alchemy. After he has
successfully turned lead into gold, the alchemist splits the gold into four
sections. He keeps one piece and gives one to the monastery in thanks for its
hospitality, and one to Santiago to make up for what he handed over to the tribal
commander. The alchemist gives the last piece of gold to the monk to hold onto,
in case Santiago should need it in the future. Alchemist leaves Santiago in
desert to accomplish his Personal Legend.

After riding so many hours, trying to listen the exact location, he whispers his-
self that where his tears fall that will be the position of treasure, his horse rides
on a dune of sand, Santiago lost his energy and fall on sand, he notices that
where his tear fall there is a beetle and in Egypt, beetle is consider as omen. He
start digging, some thieves see him and asks him that what he is trying to hide.

He tells them that he is finding hidden treasure, after too much digging there
was nothing, thieves beat Santiago badly. Santiago screams at them that he is
only looking for treasure because he dreamed twice about a buried treasure at
the Egyptian pyramids. One of the thieves tells Santiago that he had a recurring
dream about a buried treasure, except his dream told him to go to an abandoned
church in Spain where shepherds often took their sheep to rest.

"In my dream," the thief says, "there was a sycamore growing out of the ruins of
the sacristy, and I was told that, if I dug at the roots of the sycamore, I would
find a hidden treasure. But I'm not so stupid as to cross an entire desert just
because of a recurrent dream."

After the thieves depart, Santiago sits up and starts laughing. He knows where
the hidden treasure is buried. Santiago arrives back to church with help of gold
piece which Alchemist leaves for him. Digging in the sacristy beneath the
sycamore tree, Santiago uncovers a chest of gold coins, precious gems, golden,
feathered masks, and stone statues. "It's true," he thinks, "life really is generous
to those who pursue their Personal Legend”