Start Anew

"After many centuries of turmoil and bad government, the population of a city high up on one of the desert mountains of Herat province was in despair. they could not simply abolish the monarchy and yet neither could they stands many generations of arrogant, egotistical kings. They summoned the Loya Jirga, as the council of wise men is known locally.

The Loya Jirga decided that they should elect a king every four years, and that this king should have absolute power. He could increase taxes, demand total obedience, choose a different woman to take to his bed each night, and eat and drink his fill. he could wear the finest clothes, ride the finest horses. In short, any order he gave, however absurd, would be obeyed, and no one would question whether it was logical or just.

However, at the end of that period of four years, he would be obliged to give up the throne and leave the city., taking with him only his family and the clothes on his back.

Everyone knew that this would mean certain death within three or four days because there was nothing to eat or drink in that vast desert, which was freezing in winter and like a furnace in summer.

The wise men of the Loya Jirga assumed that no one would risk standing for the position of king, and that They would then be able to return to the old system of democratic elections. their decision was made public, and the post of king fell vacant. initially, several people applied. an old man with cancer took up the challenge and died during the period of his rule with a smile on his face. a madman succeeded him, but left months later ( be bad misunderstood the terms) and vanished into the desert then rumors started going around that the throne had a curse on it, and no one dared apply for the position. The city was left without a governor, confusion reigned, and the inhabitants realized that they must forget the monarchist tradition altogether and prepare to change their ways. the Loya Jirga felt pleased that its members had taken such a choice; they had simply got rid of those who wanted power at any price. then a young man,married and with three children, came forward.

'I accept the post', he said.

The wise men tried to explain the risks. they reminded him that he had a family and explained that their decision had merely been a way of discouraging adventurers and despots. however, the young man stood firm, and since it was impossible to go back on their decision, the Loya Jirga had no option but to wait another four years before they could put in place the planned return to elections.

The young man and his family proved to be excellent governors. they ruled fairly, redistributed wealth, lowered the price of food, organized popular festivals to celebrate the change of season, and encouraged craft work and music. every night, though, a great caravan of horses would leave the city, drawing heavy carts covered with jute cloth so that no one could see what was inside them. these carts never came back.

`At first the wise men of the Loya Jirga though that the king must be removing treasure from the city, but consoled themselves with the fact that the young man rarely ventured beyond the city walls; if he had and had tried to climb the nearest mountain, he would have realized that the horses would die before they got very far. This was, after all, one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. they determined that, as soon as his reign was over, they would go to the place where the horses hd died of exhaustion and the riders of thirst, and they would recover all that treasure.

They stopped worrying and waited patiently.

At the end of the four years, the young man left the throne and the city. the population was in uproar, after all, it had been a long time since they had enjoyed such a wise and just governor!

However,the Loya Jirga's decision had to be respected. the young man went to his wife and children and asked them to leave with him.

'I will',said his wife,'but at least let our children stay. they will then survive to tell your story.'

'Trust me', he said.

The tribal laws were very strict, and the wife had no alternative but to obey her husband. they mounted their horses and rode to the city gate, where they said goodbye to the friends they had made while governing the city. the Loya Jirga were pleased. they might have made many allies, but fate is fate. No one else would risk accepting the post of governor, and the democratic tradition would be restored at last. as soon as they could, they would recover the treasure abandoned in the desert, less than three days from there.

The family rode into the valley of death in silence. The wife didn't dare say a word, the children, the children didn't understand what was going on, and the young man was immersed in thought. They climbed one hill, traveled for a whole day across a vast plain, and slept on the top of the next hill.

The woman woke at dawn, wanting to make most of the final few days of her life to look her last on the mountains she had loved so much. She went up to the very top of the hill and gazed down on what should have been a empty plain, and she was startled by what she saw.

During those four years, the caravans leaving the city each night had not been carrying off jewels or gold coins. they had been carrying bricks, seeds, wood, roof-tiles, spices, animals, and traditional tools that could be used to drill into the earth and find water.

Before her lay a far more modern, far more beautiful city that the old one, and all in working order.

'This is your kingdom', said the young man, who had just woken up and joined her. 'Ever since i heard the decree, i knew it would be pointless to try and change in four years everything that centuries of corruption and bad governance had destroyed. I was certain of one thing, though, that it was possible to start again."

This excerpt was taken from Paulo Coelho's The Winner Stands Alone. Thanks for this wonderful story Paulo.