The book in my hand, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, is a remarkable tale about the most magical of all journeys: the quest to fulfil one’s destiny.
In the book, one of the characters is an old crystal merchant.
“I dream of going to Mecca,” he says at one stage. “I’ve already imagined a thousand times crossing the desert, arriving at the Plaza of the Sacred Stone. I’ve imagined the seven times I walk around it before I allow myself to touch it… But I am afraid that it will all be a disappointment, so I just prefer dreaming about it.”
