Free The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho Page A

     contact with my messenger.
    We went out to look around the city. Some alleys led directly to the river as they do in
     Venice and I decided to sit down in one of them. Petrus knew that from that point on it
     was I who would conduct the cere- mony, so he hung back.
    I looked at the river for a long time. Its water and its sound began to take me out of
     this world and to create a profound serenity in me. I closed my eyes and imag- ined the
     first billow of fire. It was not easy to imagine at first, but finally it appeared.
    I pronounced the ritual words, and another billow of fire appeared to my left. The space
     between the two billows, illuminated by the fires, was completely empty.
    I kept looking at the space for a while, trying not to think so that the messenger would
     manifest himself. But instead of his appearing, various exotic scenes began to appear the
     entrance to a pyramid, a woman dressed in pure gold, some black men dancing around a fire.
     The images came and went in rapid succession, and I let them flow uncontrolled. There also
     appeared some stretches of the Road that I had traversed with Petrus byways, restaurants,
     forests until, with no warning, the ashen desert that I had seen that morning appeared
     between the two fires. And there, looking at me, was the friendly man with the traitorous
     look in his eyes.
    He laughed, and I smiled in my trance. He showed me a closed bag, then opened it and
     looked inside but in such a way that I could not see into it. Then a name came to my
     mind: Astrain.*
    I began to envision the name and make it dance between the two fires, and the messenger
     gave a nod of approval; I had learned his name.
    It was time to end the exercise. I said the ritual words and extinguished the fires first
     on the left and then on the right. I opened my eyes, and there was the river Ega in front
     of me.
    It was much less difficult than I had imagined, I said to Petrus, after I had told him
     about everything that had occurred between the two fires.
    * This is not the real name.
    This was your first contact a meeting to establish mutual recognition and mutual
     friendship. Your con- versations with the messenger will be productive if you invoke him
     every day and discuss your problems with him. But you have to know how to distinguish
     between what is real assistance and what is a trap. Keep your sword ready every time you
     meet with him.
    But I dont have my sword yet, I answered.
    Right, so he cant cause you much damage. But even so, dont make it easy for him.
    The ritual having ended, I left Petrus and went back to the hotel. In bed, I thought about
     the poor young waiter who had served us lunch. I felt like going back there and teaching
     him the Messenger Ritual, telling him that he could change everything if he wanted to. But
     it was useless to try to save the world: I hadnt even been able to save myself yet.*
    * This description of my first experience with the Messenger Ritual is incomplete.
     Actually, Petrus explained the meaning of the visions, of the memories, and of the bag
     that Astrain showed me. But since each meeting with the messenger is different for every
     person, I do not want to insist on my own personal experience as it might influence the
     experience of others.

The Pilgrimage
    Love
    Talking with your messenger doesnt mean asking ques- tions about the world of the spirits,
     Petrus said the next day. The messenger performs only one function for you: he helps you
     with regard to the material world. And he will give you this help only if you know exactly
     what it is that you want.
    We had stopped in a town to have something to drink. Petrus had ordered a beer, and I
     asked for a soft drink. My fingers were abstract designs in the water on the table, and I
     was worried.
    You told me that the messenger had manifested himself in the boy because he needed to tell
     me some- thing.
    Something urgent, he confirmed.
    We