Before these statements left my desk and followed the fate I eventually chose for them, I considered using them as the basis for a traditional, painstakingly researched biography, recounting a true story. And so I read various biographies, thinking this would help me, only to realise that the biographer’s view of his subject inevitably influences the results of his research. Since it wasn’t my intention to impose my own opinions on the reader, but to set down the story of the ‘Witch of Portobello’ as seen by its main protagonists, I soon abandoned the idea of writing a straight biography and decided that the best approach would be simply to transcribe what people had told me.
Heron Ryan, 44, journalist
No one lights a lamp in order to hide it behind the door: the purpose of light is to create more light, to open people’s eyes, to reveal the marvels around.
No one sacrifices the most important thing she possesses: love.
No one places her dreams in the hands of those who might destroy them.
No one, that is, but Athena.
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A long time after Athena’s death, her former teacher asked me to go with her to the town of Prestonpans in Scotland. There, taking advantage of certain ancient feudal powers which were due to be abolished the following month, the town had granted official pardons to 81 people – and their cats – who were executed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for practising witchcraft.
According to the official spokeswoman for the Barons Courts of Prestoungrange & Dolphinstoun: ‘Most of those persons condemned…were convicted on the basis of spectral evidence – that is to say, prosecuting witnesses declared that they felt the presence of evil spirits or heard spirit voices.’
There’s no point now in going into all the excesses committed by the Inquisition, with its torture chambers and its bonfires lit by hatred and vengeance; however, on our way to Prestonpans, Edda said several times that there was something about that gesture which she found unacceptable: the town and the 14th Baron of Prestoungrange & Dolphinstoun were ‘granting pardons’ to people who had been brutally executed.
‘Here we are in the twenty-first century, and yet the descendants of the real criminals, those who killed the innocent victims, still feel they have the right to grant pardons. Do you know what I mean, Heron?’
I did. A new witch-hunt is starting to gain ground. This time the weapon isn’t the red-hot iron, but irony and repression. Anyone who happens to discover a gift and dares to speak of their abilities is usually regarded with distrust. Generally speaking, their husband, wife, father or child, or whoever, instead of feeling proud, forbids all mention of the matter, fearful of exposing their family to ridicule.
Before I met Athena, I thought all such gifts were a dishonest way of exploiting people’s despair. My trip to Transylvania to make a documentary on vampires was also a way of proving how easily people are deceived. Certain superstitions, however absurd they may seem, remain in the human imagination and are often used by unscrupulous people. When I visited Dracula’s castle, which has been reconstructed merely to give tourists the feeling that they’re in a special place, I was approached by a government official, who implied that I would receive a ‘significant’ (to use his word) gift when the film was shown on the BBC. In the mind of that official, I was helping to propagate the myth, and thus deserved a generous reward. One of the guides said that the number of visitors increased each year, and that any mention of the place would prove positive, even a programme saying that the castle was a fake, that Vlad Dracula was a historical figure who had nothing to do with the myth, and that it was all merely a product of the wild imaginings of one Irishman (Editor’s note: Bram Stoker), who had never even visited the region.
I knew then that, however rigorous I was with the facts, I was unwittingly collaborating with the lie; even if the idea behind my script was to demythologise the place, people would believe what they wanted to believe; the guide was right, I would simply be helping to generate more publicity. I immediately abandoned the project, even though I’d already spent quite a lot of money on the trip and on my research.
And yet my journey to Transylvania was to have a huge impact on my life, for I met Athena there when she was trying to track down her mother. Destiny – mysterious, implacable Destiny – brought us face to face in the insignificant foyer of a still more insignificant hotel. I was witness to her first conversation with Deidre – or Edda, as she likes to be called. I watched, as if I were a spectator of my own life, as my heart struggled vainly not to allow itself to be seduced by a woman who didn’t belong to my world. I applauded when reason lost the battle, and all I could do was surrender and accept that I was in love.
That love led me to see things I’d never imagined could exist – rituals, materialisations, trances. Believing that I was blinded by love, I doubted everything, but doubt, far from paralysing me, pushed me in the direction of oceans whose very existence I couldn’t admit. It was this same energy which, in difficult times, helped me to confront the cynicism of journalist colleagues and to write about Athena and her work. And since that love remains alive, the energy remains, even though Athena is dead, even though all I want now is to forget what I saw and learned. I could only navigate that world while hand in hand with Athena.
These were her gardens, her rivers, her mountains. Now that she’s gone, I need everything to return as quickly as possible to how it used to be. I’m going to concentrate more on traffic problems, Britain’s foreign policy, on how we administer taxes. I want to go back to thinking that the world of magic is merely a clever trick, that people are superstitious, that anything science cannot explain has no right to exist.
When the meetings in Portobello started to get out of control, we had endless arguments about how she was behaving, although I’m glad now that she didn’t listen to me. If there is any possible consolation in the tragedy of losing someone we love very much, it’s the necessary hope that perhaps it was for the best.
I wake and fall asleep with that certainty; it’s best that Athena left when she did rather than descend into the infernos of this world. She would never have regained her peace of mind after the events that earned her the nickname ‘the witch of Portobello’. The rest of her life would have been a bitter clash between her personal dreams and collective reality. Knowing her as I did, she would have battled on to the end, wasting her energy and her joy on trying to prove something that no one, absolutely no one, was prepared to believe.
Who knows, perhaps she sought death the way a shipwreck victim seeks an island. She must have stood late at night in many a Tube station, waiting for muggers who never came. She must have walked through the most dangerous parts of London in search of a murderer who never appeared, or perhaps tried to provoke the anger of the physically strong, who refused to get angry.
Until, finally, she managed to get herself brutally murdered. But, then, how many of us will be saved the pain of seeing the most important things in our lives disappearing from one moment to the next? I don’t just mean people, but our ideas and dreams too: we might survive a day, a week, a few years, but we’re all condemned to lose. Our body remains alive, yet, sooner or later, our soul will receive the mortal blow. The perfect crime – for we don’t know who murdered our joy, what their motives were or where the guilty parties are to be found.
Are they aware of what they’ve done, those nameless guilty parties? I doubt it, because they, too – the depressed, the arrogant, the impotent and the powerful – are the victims of the reality they created.
They don’t understand and would be incapable of understanding Athena’s world. Yes, that’s the best way to think of it – Athena’s world. I’m finally coming to accept that I was only a temporary inhabitant, there as a favour, like someone who finds themselves in a beautiful mansion, eating exquisite food, aware that this is only a party, that the mansion belongs to someone else, that the food was bought by someone else, and that the time will come when the lights will go out, the owners will go to bed, the servants will return to their quarters, the door will close, and we’ll be out in the street again, waiting for a taxi or a bus to restore us to the mediocrity of our everyday lives.
I’m going back, or, rather, part of me is going back to that world where only what we can see, touch and explain makes sense. I want to get back to the world of speeding tickets, people arguing with bank cashiers, eternal complaints about the weather, to horror films and Formula 1 racing. This is the universe I’ll have to live with for the rest of my days. I’ll get married, have children, and the past will become a distant memory, which will, in the end, make me ask myself: How could I have been so blind? How could I have been so ingenuous?
I also know that, at night, another part of me will remain wandering in space, in contact with things as real as the pack of cigarettes and the glass of gin before me now. My soul will dance with Athena’s soul; I’ll be with her while I sleep; I’ll wake up sweating and go into the kitchen for a glass of water. I’ll understand that in order to combat ghosts you must use weapons that form no part of reality. Then, following the advice of my grandmother, I’ll place an open pair of scissors on my bedside table to snip off the end of the dream.
The next day, I’ll look at the scissors with a touch of regret, but I must adapt to living in the world again or risk going mad.
Next text will be online on: 28.02.07
Any message about any chapter can be left in the “readers’ corner” post.
Sir, you have made my life a more beautiful place. The wonders of this world have been more apparent to me now that I have read some on your wisdom from many of your books. Thank you for showing me ways to see existance in a way that is fresh and new as well as inspiring me to life not only longer, but more fully.
As always you have whetted my apetite for more, cannot wait to read the following chapters.
I pray thay I will have the opportunity in my life to look at the world as you do.
Thank you for sharing your soul with the world. You are of great inspiration. Looking forward to the release of your new novel.
Love, Live and Laugh.
Eckie Friar, Danville, Pennsylvania
author, Luella’s Calling
Oh no! It will take a very long time for me to wait ’till the book published in my country, Indonesia…
Paulo Coelho you are Great… the spirituality, freedom, culture descriptions ahh what can I say… mesmerising… I cant wait to get my hands on Witch of Portebello!
btw, I believe in the Omens!
Ain
Muscat, Oman
Dear Mr. Coelho
You know, as Hafez (the grate Iranian poet), you are a sacred man for me and your books are also sacred as the Hafez book. There are only two non Iranian writers that I have read and collected all their books: You and Mr.Marquez.
Reading your new book, Witch of Portobello, of course in English version, I found you a real classic and very very greate writer. Now, you are in near the gratest writers in the world. Congratulation to you for beeing a sacred writer and thanks God for granting us a holy prophet: Paulo Coelho
I kiss your hands
pure joy
reading your books, exploring your thoughts its something that really
inspires me to go on walking my path and finding my way in life…
thnx for all the things that you share with us…..
best wishes
i am so excited that a new book will be coming out! i’ve got all the others, and decided to come online to see if there was any news on a new book, and here it is! i can’t wait to buy it!
thanks mr coelho for your amazing writings, they really lift the spirit!
Very engaging…You books have so much meaning that there are times when I actually wonder whether you have been able to realize the extend to which they influence and the greatness of the lessons they teach.
Its rewarding for me as an individual to read one of your books and I possess each and everyone of them…
Encore…
Karishma Manga, New Delhi, India.
You write what I need to read.
You have no idea how much faith and power your books are giving me. Ever since I read your book “Veronika docide morrer” I can’t stop reading the rest of them ! And I truly can’t wait for another ones…. You’re amazing! Greetings Kasia
I am greatful to be able to read the first chapter of your book…I will buy it soon it gets released. This is going to be another one of my Coelho’s library!
Are you for real? Do you really believe in what are you writing? I meam the books are well written, you master the craft, but the subjects?! You know we do not live in a permanent “lord of the ring”.
Paulo,
Very generous of you to share so much of your ‘yet-to- release’.
I read first fewlines and stopped..will continue only when the book is released and I can read all of it.
Eagerly waiting for the release.
All the very best for your new feather in your crown!!
Regards, Vatsa, Bangalore,India
Dear Paulo.
What else can I say but wonderfull, intelligent and fantastic.
You wright books that talks to you not at you.
Can`t wait untill I can read it and add it to my collection.
Thank you, very much for every single book you have written.
Regads Sophie, from Sweden
Your books do not only stir thoughts in my mind, but, also emotions throughout my body. I need to align my spine before I sit down to read anything you write. Thank you for offering bits and pieces of your work online for free because I don’t always have enough money to go out and buy one of your novels, essays, poems, and more. You inspire me all the time . Thanks
Sounds like another magnificent book. I look forward to reading it and adding it to my collection.
Hey Paulo,
I’ve enjoyed your books ever since I laid hands on The Alchemist. Your reputation preceeds you all the time. And you obviously have another great inspirational story coming up with this one. I extremely love your style of writing, the way you convey deep messages for humanity through your interesting stories. Can’t wait to read this! Greetings from Singapore!
Cheers!
His stories come with a depth that grips us to the end .. until we are finsihed reading it covers us with curiosity n wonder of his style and effectivenes that he flashes in his writing… Great author and Great salute for him…
Regards
Rex
Bless you for allowing us in! What a gift!
Something about the way you write, be it The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, 11 Seconds, or The Witch of Portabello, makes me want to experience every step of the character’s lives…their pain and their joy.
I want to see what you’ve seen!
with great respect and love,
Gopati
Dear Paulo !
So much …… pain ! aaahh !!, lately I don’t like to read u’r stories, they try to wake me up. I for one cannot read anything ‘just like that’. & as u r well aware, waking up is a dangarous business in a world where most walk asleep. But ….neither can u stop nor can I, so be it.
regards
Aditya
Thanks Paulo,
Greetings from Australia!
I am one of those who cant wait for the book to be published… I always want to devour your books from cover to cover the minute I open them .. so reading a chapter prior to publication, for me, is a torment..
Still I am tempted to have a sneek preview! But I wont spoil the anticipation..
With Love,
Karen
Dear,
Your books help me in some of the most hard time in my life
Thank you
“They too are victims of the reality they created”. Brilliant.
Sending my regards to everyone
Dear Paulo,
Thank you for your beautiful stories! They change my life and the way I think and see the (other) world around us.
Gracias from Holland!
Dear paulo
i just want to say i cant wait for your new book ad i hope you will always make the greates as i raed before like the zahir, by the river piedra and alchemist, make me live and always be strong to facin all things in my life. Thank you paulo to be my great friend and i hope one day i ca meet you somewhere.
Dear Paulo Coelho,
I am really eager to read your new book.As usual I am sure it will be inspiring and touching on different aspects of life.Your books have been very inspiring to me especially “Alchemist”,”Like the flowing river” and”The manual of the warrior of light”.They are like an almanac to me and I always read them whenever I feel low.I really pray that you will keep on writing and inspiring and guidig me for years and years.ALL THE BEST! GOD BE WITH YOU!!
Rita.
[quote comment="39"]Dear Paulo,
Thank you for this first chapter. It makes me curious and I cannot wait to be able to read the other chapters. A sentence as
“Knowing her as I did, she would have battled on to the end, wasting her energy and her joy on trying to prove something that no one, absolutely no one, was prepared to believe.”
triggers me! This must be a great novel!
All the best,
Lex[/quote]
Magic is the ability to understand what is beyond our understanding in order to accept the incomprehensible and believe in the unbelievable: “They don’t understand and would be incapable of understanding Athena’s world…Anyone who happens to discover a gift and dares to speak of their abilities is usually regarded with distrust.”
I’m sure it’s a great novel…No doubt about it!
Hello Paullo,
You have been an inspiration in the hardest times!!!
What to say?-that you already havent been told by your readers?-except “thank you” deeply from my soul.
are you ever planing a signig in belgrade?, i am very shure that a lot of people would love to meet you.
Gracias
Dear Paulo,
Thank you for this first chapter. It makes me curious and I cannot wait to be able to read the other chapters. A sentence as
“Knowing her as I did, she would have battled on to the end, wasting her energy and her joy on trying to prove something that no one, absolutely no one, was prepared to believe.”
triggers me! This must be a great novel!
All the best,
Lex
Today of all days I read this…It is as if it was faith that brought me here to read about Athena…somebody I can already relate.
I have been searching for my treasure, mind you that I still do not know what my treasure is; nevertheless, I still search. I have been for about two years now. Today when I was about to loose all hope; today the day that I was about to tell my heart to keeo silence forever and tell my ears to listen no more; today I find the one that has sent me originally in the quest for my treasure. Thank you for today you have reminded me that in the journey I will hurt, dismay, and maybe loose faith in myself but I should never ever loose hope. You may never know how your writing has touched my life. Thanks for everything.
It will an honor to read your new book.
Respectfully,
Rosaura
when you walking and walking …when the head, the arms become more and more hard,i saw a light,a little light .first i didn’t see it(because it was a lot of fog and darkness), but it succeeds ,that this little light let me so good for listening and opening myself to the love. thankyou, “my little light”!your pages make me to see everything in a different way.thankyou!
sounds like a life i know…..I look forward 4 it to touch my heart, mind, and soul.
hello there paulo.
ive noticed that you have a great gift.
you can give people so much love and inspiring them just by writing your blog here. you do´nt have to write all those explanations, you make it good anyway. a very grat talent. about your new one; this introduction says so much about, not about the book itself but the concept. a typical coelho concept. this seems to be another master peace. I hope this book have magic and spritual parts,cause i loved the alchemist and Devil and miss prym most.
have a nice 2007!
I always considered myself ordinary, but reading your soul in your books makes me feel the person I am, very special very deep.
I couldn’t stop crying when I read the first part of your new book..it is more than awesome…
Reality strikeS
i have just noticed that there is so much more in spanish and portuguese ! why arent all those chapters in english as well?
i must be honest and say that i am not a big fan of your writting. however, the passion i have for reading and discovering through books always leads me back to read something of the great Coelho. the second i heard you were to publish some of the new book in a blog i got even more curious and had to see it for myself. the first minute or ss it was a bit confusing, dont know if its the language barrier or something else. i kept reading and must say that this one i like. if its the spurge of the moment, i dont know. i just feel like reading more of it - which is a good sign.
so far so good - im looking forward to the 28th.
Thank you Paulo
dearest paulo,
i have with me right now ten of your 12 books. i really like most the “11 minutes” and “the alchemist”. i like all of them. you inspire me a lot…as if you are talking to me personally. your words and line pnetrate in my inmost being. you’re indeed a very wonderful and a fantastic writer who can blend both realism and magic realism. i’m looking forward for your books to come…
one thing… i noticed that you are very oriental!
i hope i can get a copy of your books given by you personally! thanks
seminarian paolo
philippines
Dear Paulo,
It is pretty difficult and would be unfair to comment on a story just by looking at first few pages. I would request friends here to wait alittle bit and i am sure we are going to get another great story just waiting to unfold.
Keep waiting Friends!
sandeep
What can i say? I suppose it will be another great book.can’t wait to read it.
But i have one simply ouestion could we ask for polish site in polish language pls? u have got a lot of fans from my country as well?
best wishes from polish people:~))))
Wonderful start! I can’t wait to read the rest. Thanks much for being so great to your fans and allowing us to sample the novel before publication.
hello paulo coelho !!!!
i started to read your books when i was in malta, it was for improving my english skills, then when i came came back to france i go on with reading an other book written by you. after i went to russia, and there again, i read an other book. and because of reading your books, i met with your friend valentina (lovely person).
Anyway, this new book looks real interesting and i am sure that i will learn many things of life with this one.
You make people including me travelling by your books, show them a different way to the life, give them hope, make them thinking of what are their goal in their lifes …….. ( my personnal opinion)
hope to meet you one day
Sounds like a good start to a great book!
Can’t wait to get my hands on all of it!
Thank you Paulo!