She was overtaken several times by well-prepared tourists in hiking gear and locals who were clearly very accustomed to the hillside villages’ multitude of steps.

Panting and wheezing, Keira stopped for a rest, sitting down clumsily on the steps. It was the first time she’d actually looked at the view, and it was breathtaking. Keira felt like she had suddenly entered a dream world, or had been sucked into a painting. The ocean, the houses, everything was so picturesque. This was the view she would have enjoyed from the bus if she hadn’t been so worried about plunging off the mountainside!

She took her time to collect herself, breathing in the warm ocean air, letting the crowds of people file past her, and realized for the first time in a very long time that she was smiling.

Suddenly, someone was hurrying down the steps behind her.

“Miss? Miss, did you fall?”

She looked at the young man, clearly a local. He seemed very at home on the steps, like a mountain goat hopping and skipping along.

“No, I’m fine,” Keira said. “Just catching my breath.”

He looked at her case. “You carried this all the way?” His eyes were wide with surprise.

Keira nodded, feeling accomplished. “Yes, I did.”

“Here, I should carry it the rest for you.”

Feeling elated by her achievement thus far, and a little giddy from feeling like she was standing on the top of the world, Keira nodded her agreement.

“Thank you, that’s very kind.”

He grasped the handle and heaved it up a step.

“Where have you traveled from?” he asked as he deftly negotiated the steps. The case didn’t seem as heavy for him as it had been for Keira. He must be used to carrying things up the steep hillside steps.

“I’m from New York,” Keira told him. “But I traveled from Naples.”

He pulled a face. “A nasty place, Naples. You are lucky to be here now. Positano is the best village in the whole of Italy. Most romantic too.”

Keira was pleased to hear that. She needed some romance and quickly.

Finally they reached the top of the hillside. Keira saw the Oceano Hotel ahead of her, just the other side of the road. It looked like a nice place to stay, with a roof terrace and a large porch-style area outside. She was ready to forgive Heather for last night’s terrible hotel and guide experience now that she had seen this place.

“Ta-da!” the young man said, gesturing to it.

“Thank you so much,” Keira gushed. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate some help. People have been less than friendly so far.”

But before she’d even finished her sentence, she realized that the man was holding out his hand, palm up. She frowned, at first wondering whether he was expecting her to hold it. Then it dawned on her that he was asking for a tip. But he’d only carried her cases twenty steps! She’d already walked up a hundred or more on her own, she hadn’t needed him for the last little bit.