Hey, everyone. So today we're collaborating with the folks from Off Assignment again. They are a great

nonprofit online literary magazine who describe themselves as having a penchant for journeys

and a fascination with strangers. It is a vibe that we at Atlas of Skira most definitely share, so it's worth going and checking

them out.

Off Assignment has this column that I particularly love.

That's called Letter to a Stranger.

And it tries to encapsulate these fleeting moments you have while traveling.

Today, we are going to share an essay from that column.

It was written by Maggie Downs, and once again, Atlas Obscira goes off assignment.

To the hiker carrying two backpacks.

I noticed you on the first day of the Inca Trail.

Machu Picchu was still a distant promise, and I was already bartering with my lungs.

The altitude had found me, as it always does, with the precision of someone who knows your weaknesses by name. My asthma, mostly

manageable at sea level, had turned every breath into a conscious effort from the moment I landed

in Kusko, Peru. My inhales came in shallow sips while each exhale was a reminder. You are

not built for this. I was pulling air like I owed it money and the

interest was steep. My pack dragged at my shoulders and my legs unconvincingly negotiated with

gravity. I tried to distract myself by counting steps or naming clouds, but my mind kept looping back

to the effort of simply being here. It was all I could do

to not fold in on myself, to keep placing one foot in front of the other, as if the motion alone

might summon oxygen. But there you were, steady and deliberate, moving as if gravity had made

a private agreement to go easy on you.

...