You find a taxi

With some luck you managed to wave down a beat up looking taxi. The car looked like a knock off version of a Volkswagen Beatle. It was white, stained with mud and dirt, and had rust forming along the sides. The driver was an older man with a large stomach. He had a black handle bar moustache and black hair sloppily combed to the side. You opened the door and let your mother get in. The driver got out of the car and helped you load your luggage into the trunk. He introduced himself as Suresh in broken English and asked where you needed to go. You tried your best to explain that you hadn’t booked a hotel and hoped he could take you somewhere decent. Suresh nodded his head as he considered his options and then motioned for you to get in the car as he made his way back to the drivers seat. You climbed into the back seat with your mother and Suresh quickly took off winding through the dark streets of Delhi.

Suresh was quiet during the drive, but you caught him sneaking looks at you and your mother while he thought you weren’t looking. Finally you pulled up to a rundown looking building in a dark lonely street. There was a single light illuminating the entrance, but the rest of the building was shrouded in darkness, only giving away glimpses of its obvious disrepair to you. Stepping inside with Suresh and your mother you find yourself in a small cluttered lobby. With Suresh’s help you were able to book a single room for you and your mother to share. It occurred to you that you could simply use your powers to accomplish all this much faster, but relying on Suresh’s help seemed more natural and authentic to you.

Suresh and you grab your luggage and haul it up to the room you would be staying at. Luckily there was an elevator. It was slow and creaked suspiciously as it rose up, but it worked and you thanked the gods you didn’t have to take the stairs. Your mother leads the way finding your room quickly through the dirty hallway. She unlocks the door and steps inside. Turning on the light you follow your mother in and take in your surroundings.

The room was small. There was a single double bed, held on a flimsy frame, in the middle of the room. Directly infant of it was an old tv mounted onto the wall. The bathroom was near the entrance, you notice quickly there was no door for privacy, the hotel had only provided and translucent curtain to resemble separation. A single barred window overlooked the dark street outside, not that the single ceiling light in your room did much to brighten the interior either. Still you figured it was good enough.

“Ugh I’m all sweaty. I’m going to take a shower sweetie,” your mother quickly says before rushing into the washroom and shutting the curtain behind you. “Alright mom,” you quickly reply as you and Suresh place the luggage on the floor. You quickly remove some American dollar bills from your wallet. Twenty dollars should be enough to cover everything you thought. Suresh took the money and seemed satisfied, so you said nothing more. Turning your attention to a shower, you suddenly felt the urge to wash off the sweat of the journey as well. Ripping open the bathroom curtain you slip inside and quickly strip off your clothes.