The crystal merchant knew all there was to know about crystal, from where to buy, the quality, at what price to sell.
He used to be busy, but times had changed, few people climbed the hill, the crystal on display was collecting dust, but after 30 years it was too late to change, crystal was all he knew.
One day, just as he was about to shut up shop to go for his lunch, he saw a boy looking at his display. He had sufficient experience to appraise the boy to know he had no money and was not going to buy anything. He nevertheless delayed closing his shop until the boy walked on.
The boy walked in, offered to clean the dusty crystal on display if the merchant bought his lunch.
The merchant agreed, as the boy was cleaning the crystal two customers walked in.
Over lunch, the merchant told the boy he had no need to clean the crystal, he would have taken him for lunch, it was an obligation in the Koran.
The merchant seeing that he has already sold crystal that day, saw the arrival of the boy as a good omen and asked the boy if he wished to work for him.
The boy agreed, he would work for the day as he wished to raise enough money to travel to the Pyramids in Egypt.
The boy was crestfallen to learn the Pyramids were far away and he would have to work for at least a year to raise the money to travel that far.
He abandoned his dream.
He would work long enough to buy a ticket back home and buy sheep, he was a shepherd and sheep was all he knew.
The boy cleaned the stock, was good with the customers, and businesses once again picked up.
Two months on, the boy asked could he build a cabinet at the bottom of the hill to display the crystal, as this would tempt visitors to climb the hill to the shop.
The merchant was reluctant, business was picking up, the crystal would get broken, and anyway he did not like change.
But he saw the boy was correct and agreed.
One day the boy overheard from those who climbed the hill how tired and thirsty they were and would it not be a nice idea a drink of tea.
The boy suggested to the merchant they should serve tea in crystal.
The merchant was reluctant, more change, and what did he know about tea, but he agreed.
Business again picked up, word got around, tea was being served in crystal. Many of the men said how their wives would love to serve tea in crystal and bought crystal as a gift for their wives.
In less than a year, the boy bid farewell to the crystal merchant, he had saved enough money to buy a ticket, buy 120 sheep, knew about crystal, could speak Arabic, obtain an import licence for Spain.
The crystal merchant reminded him of his dream, that a caravan was about to depart, that he should follow his dream, that was his destiny.
Steep Hill follows the route of an old Roman Road, it used to be lined with shops, many people walking up the hill to the Castle and Cathedral, stopping part way en route to visit one of the many tea shops.
Now there are few visitors, a bus carries visitors to the top of the hill, many shops have closed, when there are holidays the tea and coffee shops are closed, we too deserve a break they say, then reopen when few visitors are around and bemoan their lack of customers.
There are few businesses of quality, little to draw people back.
At the top of the hill there used to be a tea shop, it closed, premises gutted. Now a cheese shop and coffee shop, the cheese shop selling plastic-wrapped adulterated fake cheddar cheese, the coffee shop serving undrinkable coffee.
The story of the crystal merchant and the boy is taken from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The boy is the shepherd boy Santiago who follows his dreams.
The illustration by Jesús Cisneros from the illustrated Folio Society edition of The Alchemist.
Steep Hill is the tale of a real street in terminal decline.
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