***Note from the author***
The following story was made possible through a collaboration effort with fellow Literotica author, Sweetdreamssss. She is a talented young author from India, so DO give her stories a look.
Since this is my first time collaborating with another author, you will see several elements that you are familiar with, but also stuff you may not have seen from me before. So please let me know in the comments section, what you thought.
I am planning to collaborate with her again in the future, and we have already brainstormed several ideas, so if this one gets good feedback, we might end up writing a sequel or making it into a series.
Again, very special thanks to Sweetdreamssss for the idea and outline. Do let us know if you'd like to see more collaborations from us.
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Budget travel in north India isn't exactly a typical idea of a relaxing holiday. Food poisoning, aggressive street hawkers, dirty hostels, and long train rides in often cramped and uncomfortable quarters, were just a few of the discomforts a traveler had to endure when traveling in this part of the world. But they say you can't really call yourself a traveler unless you've done India, and for 28-year-old Brian, it was a place he had wanted to travel to since childhood. It's a little bit clichΓ©, I know, as it seems that pretty much every white Westerner has wanted to travel to India at some point in their life. And while most Westerners seemed to opt for the architectural marvels of Agra, the beautiful beaches of Goa, or the chaotic streets of Mumbai, Brian's favorite Indian state had always been Rajasthan. From the varied geography and biology to the traditional Mogul architecture, and the dark-skinned saree clad women, Rajasthan had always seemed like the stereotypical India that you see in Bollywood movies. Though it wasn't exactly the ideal destination for a first-time visitor to the country, this was the India that Brian wanted to experience.
It was around an 18-hour train ride from Delhi to Jaisalmer, through one of the most populated and traditional regions of India. Traveling in an unreserved coach through this part of India, was basically a free for all. It seemed like the train companies didn't care how many people they crammed on board, as long as they were making money. And when you're the only foreigner in your coach, the locals stare at you as if you're some kind of zoo animal.
After enduring over 4.5 hours of cramped sweaty hell, the train finally pulls into Jaipur station. As this is the largest city and main commercial center of Rajasthan, a good chunk of the passengers disembarked here. And with few Jaipurians traveling west on this particular day, Brian is finally able to get some breathing room and secure a window seat. The solace doesn't last long however, as a family of five rushes into his coach, just as the train is pulling away.
The man must have been well into his 40s, while his wife was incredibly young, only in her early 20s. The man was walking with two children, a boy who must've been around 10, and a girl who looked to be around 5. The woman also carried a small baby in her arms. Brian knew immediately from the significant age gaps, that this family must be the result of an arranged marriage. And from the ages of the children, he was fairly confident that the young woman, wasn't this man's first wife. Brian couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. She was so young, and although she was no Bollywood star, she was by no means a bad looking girl. She had smooth dark skin, and large almond shaped eyes with short lashes and prominent brows, a large silver colored nose bud and septum ornament and perfectly proportioned pink lips. Her fingers and nails were long and unpainted. She had a small sapphire wedding ring on her right index finger, and another ring on her right thumb. Her toenails contained chipped red polish and were uncut, a common characteristic amongst Indian girls. On her second toe of her right foot, was an ornate toe ring, considered a symbol of marriage in India. That was about as much as he could see, as the rest of her body was covered with a traditional Rajasthani ghaghra and head scarf. Surely such a girl deserved to have a nice boy her own age, but it was pretty clear that her husband had paid quite a handsome dowry for her.
As luck would have it, the man and two kids are forced to sit in the empty seat next to Brian, while his wife and baby are stuck next to a younger Indian man, on the seat right across the aisle. Apparently, her husband felt more comfortable with his wife sitting next to a strange Indian man, than a strange White man. Although Brian didn't speak a word of Hindi, he could tell from the dirty looks he was getting, and the way he was speaking to his wife, that the man wasn't too pleased with this seating arrangement.
With each stop, the train wasn't getting any emptier, and as the journey progressed, the man's attitude towards his wife was starting to make Brian's blood boil. He had heard that India wasn't the most woman friendly society, but this is the first time he was actually witnessing it, and he couldn't help but feel partially responsible. He wanted to pop the man so badly, or at the very least give him a good earful. But at the same time, he knows he is in a foreign country with a different culture, and such an action probably wouldn't end well for him. He can only hope that they are getting off soon.
The real troubles start, when the man's son begins misbehaving and hitting his sister. After only an hour, the kids were starting to get antsy, and were constantly attempting to crawl and push their way over Brian to the window seat, while he was shooting the sunset with his phone. Suddenly out of nowhere the man barks at Brian, in broken English to give his children the window seat. An irritated Brian reluctantly obliges, and now finds himself squished between an angry Indian and his misbehaving children. As he adjusts himself to his new position, he briefly locks eyes with the man's wife, and notices a slight look of sympathy in her eyes.
Brian's troubles only get worse, when the man suddenly asks him if his kids can borrow his phone to play games.