The Manual of the Warrior of Light

The Manual of the Warrior of Light

Paulo Coelho

Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa

Prologue

'Just off the beach to the west of the village lies an island, and on it is a
vast temple with many bells,' said the woman.
The boy noticed that she was dressed strangely and had a veil covering her
head. He had never seen her before.
'Have you ever visited that temple?' she asked. 'Go there and tell me what
you think of it?'
Seduced by the woman's beauty, the boy went to the place she had
indicated. He sat down on the beach and stared out at the horizon, but he saw
only what he always saw: blue sky and ocean.
Disappointed, he walked to a nearby fishing village and asked if anyone
there knew about an island and a temple.
'Oh, that was many years ago, when my great-grandparents were alive,'
said an old fisherman. 'There was an earthquake, and the island was swallowed
up by the sea. But although we can no longer see the island, we can still hear the
temple bells when the ocean sets them swinging down below.'
The boy went back to the beach and tried to hear the bells. He spent the
whole afternoon there, but all he heard was the noise of the waves and the cries
of the seagulls.
When night fell, his parents came looking for him. The following morning,
he went back to the beach; he could not believe that such a beautiful woman
would have lied to him. If she ever returned, he could tell her that, although he.....

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