Santiago leaves the oasis with the alchemist

Santiago leaves the oasis with the alchemist, a decisive turning point where he chooses to continue his quest for the treasure rather than remain with Fatima, committing to the final stage of his Personal Legend. This departure marks the culmination of his internal struggle between love and destiny, and sets in motion the ultimate tests that will lead him to the Pyramids and, eventually, to the true location of his treasure.

The Decision to Leave

After the alchemist's warning that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny, Santiago feels peace in his heart and says, "I'm going with you." The alchemist responds simply that they will leave before sunrise. Santiago spends a sleepless night, and two hours before dawn, he awakens one of the boys who sleeps in his tent and asks to be taken to Fatima's tent. He gives his friend enough gold to buy a sheep, then asks him to awaken Fatima and tell her he is waiting outside, giving him enough gold for another sheep. The young Arab returns to his tent to sleep, proud to have helped the counselor of the oasis and happy at having enough money to buy himself some sheep.

The Farewell to Fatima

Fatima appears at the entrance to her tent, and the two walk out among the palm trees, violating the Tradition, though Santiago no longer cares. He tells her he is going away but will return, and begins to explain why he loves her. Fatima interrupts him, saying, "One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving." Santiago continues, recounting his dream, his meeting with the king, his work in the crystal shop, his crossing of the desert, and how the war brought him to the well where he sought the alchemist. He concludes, "I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you." They embrace for the first time. Santiago promises he will return, and Fatima tells him that before this she looked to the desert with longing, but now it will be with hope, recalling that her father went away one day but always returned to her mother. They walk a bit farther among the palms, and Santiago leaves her at the entrance to her tent, repeating his promise. He sees that her eyes are filled with tears. When he asks if she is crying, she says, "I'm a woman of the desert," averting her face, "but above all, I'm a woman."

The Aftermath at the Oasis

When daylight comes, Fatima goes out to do the chores she has done for years, but everything has changed. The oasis will no longer be a place with fifty thousand palm trees and three hundred wells where pilgrims arrive relieved at the end of their journeys; from that day on, it will be an empty place for her. Instead, the desert becomes what matters. She will look to it every day, trying to guess which star Santiago follows in search of his treasure, sending her kisses on the wind, hoping it will touch his face and tell him she is alive and waiting for him. From that day on, the desert represents only one thing to her: the hope for his return.

The Journey Begins

As they ride across the sands, the alchemist tells Santiago not to think about what he has left behind, because everything is written in the Soul of the World and will stay there forever. Santiago says men dream more about coming home than about leaving, but the alchemist replies that if what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil and one can always come back; if what one found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, one would find nothing on return. Santiago knows the alchemist is speaking of Fatima. It is difficult not to think about what he has left behind: the palm trees, the wells, the face of the woman he loves, the Englishman at his experiments, and the camel driver who was a teacher without realizing it. The alchemist rides in front with his falcon on his shoulder, and the bird knows the language of the desert well, flying off in search of game whenever they stop. On the first day he returns with a rabbit, on the second with two birds. At night they spread their sleeping gear and keep their fires hidden, as the desert nights grow colder and darker with the passing phases of the moon. They travel for a week, speaking only of precautions needed to avoid battles between the tribes, and at times the wind carries the sweet, sickly smell of blood from nearby fights.

The Deeper Meaning of the Departure

Santiago's departure from the oasis embodies the principle that Melchizedek taught him: "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." The old king had also said that everyone, when young, knows what their destiny is, but as time passes a mysterious force convinces them it will be impossible to realize it. Santiago had already experienced this force when he wept in the Tangier marketplace, feeling that God was unfair and that this was how God repaid those who believed in their dreams. Yet he had also learned, as the camel driver taught him, to concentrate on the present: "When I'm eating, that's all I think about. If I'm on the march, I just concentrate on marching." The alchemist later reinforces this lesson, telling Santiago that the only thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve is the fear of failure. Santiago's choice to leave the oasis, despite his love for Fatima and the comfortable life he could have had as the oasis's counselor, demonstrates his commitment to his Personal Legend. The alchemist had warned him that if he stayed, the omens would eventually abandon him, and he would spend the rest of his days knowing he had not pursued his destiny. By leaving, Santiago avoids this fate and continues on the path that will ultimately lead him to the treasure—not at the Pyramids, but back at the abandoned church where his journey began, as the leader of the bandits who beat him later reveals that he too had a recurrent dream of treasure buried there.