the boy understood intuitively what he meant, even without ever having set foot in the desert before. whenever he saw the sea, or a fire, he fell silent, impressed by their elemental force.
i've learned things from the sheep, and i've learned things from crystal, he thought. i can learn something from the desert, too. it seems old and wise.
the wind never stopped, and the boy remembered the day he had sat at the fort in tarifa with this same wind blowing in his face. it reminded him of the wool from his sheep… his sheep who were now seeking food and water in the fields of andalusia, as they always had.
"they're not my sheep anymore," he said to himself, without nostalgia. "they must be used to their new shepherd, and have probably already forgotten me. that's good. creatures like the sheep, that are used to traveling, know about moving on."
he thought of the merchant's daughter, and was sure that she had probably married. perhaps to a baker, or to another shepherd who could read and could tell her exciting stories—after all, he probably wasn't the only one. but he was excited at his intuitive understanding of the camel driver's comment: maybe he was also learning the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people. "hunches," his mother used to call them. the boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.
"maktub," the boy said, remembering the crystal merchant.
the desert was all sand in some stretches, and rocky in others. when the caravan was blocked by a boulder, it had to go around it; if there was a large rocky area, they had to make a major detour. if the sand was too fine for the animals' hooves, they sought a way where the sand was more substantial. in some places, the ground was covered with the salt of dried-up lakes. the animals balked at such places, and the camel drivers were forced to dismount and unburden their charges. the drivers carried the freight themselves over such treacherous footing, and then reloaded the camels. if a guide were to fall ill or die, the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one.
but all this happened for one basic reason: no matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same compass point. once obstacles were overcome, it returned to its course, sighting on a star that indicated the location of the oasis. when the people saw that star shining in the morning sky, they knew they were on the right course toward water, palm trees, shelter, and other people. it was only the englishman who was unaware of all this; he was, for the most part, immersed in reading his books.
the boy, too, had his book, and he had tried to read it during the first few days of the journey. but he found it much more interesting to observe the caravan and listen to the wind. as soon as he had learned to know his camel better, and to establish a relationship with him, he threw the book away. although the boy had developed a superstition that each time he opened the book he would learn something important, he decided it was an unnecessary burden.
