They crossed the desert for another two days in silence. The alchemist
had become much more cautious, because they were approaching the area where the
most violent battles were being waged. As they moved along, the boy tried to
listen to his heart.

It was not easy to do so; in earlier times, his heart had always been
ready to tell its story, but lately that wasn't true. There had been times when
his heart spent hours telling of its sadness, and at other times it became
so emotional over the desert sunrise that the boy had to hide his tears. His
heart beat fastest when it spoke to the boy of treasure, and more slowly when
the boy stared entranced at the endless horizons od the desert. but his heart
was never quiet, even when the boy and the alchemist had fallen into silence.

"Why do we have to listen to our hearts?" the boy asked, when they had
made camp that day.

"Because whereever your heart is, that is where you'll find your
treasure."

"But my heart is agitated," the boy said. "It has dreams, it gets
emotional, and it's become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things
of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I'm thinking about
her."

"Well, that's good. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has
to say."

During the next three days, the two travellers passed by a number of
armed tribesmen, and saw others on the horizon. The boy's heart began to speak
of fear. It told him stories it had heard from the Soul of the World, stories of
men who sought to find their treasure and never succeeded. Somethimes it
frightened the boy with the idea that he might not find his treasure, or that he
might die there in the desert. At other times, it told the boy that it was
satisfied: it had found love and riches.

"My heart is a traitor," the boy said to the alchemist, when they had
paused to rest the horses. "It doesn't want me to go on."

"That makes sense, the alchemist answered. "Naturally it's afraid that,
in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you've won."

"Why then, should I listen to my heart?"

"Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. even if you
pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you,
repeating to you what you're thinking about life and about the world.
"

"You mean i should listen, even if it's treasonous?"

"Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart
well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you'll know its dreams
and wishes, and will know how to deal with them."

"You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to
listen to what is had to say. That way, you'll never have to fear an
unanticipated blow."