The rain began at exactly 6:13 PM.
By 6:20, the street outside looked like somebody had poured an entire ocean from the sky.
Thunder cracked.
Windows rattled.
Bruno barked heroically at clouds for no reason.
Inside the Narayanan house, everyone prepared for the usual monsoon tradition:
Power cut.
And exactly on cue—
THAK.
Darkness.
“Ah,” said grandfather peacefully.
“Nature has switched us off.”
Anu screamed dramatically.
Karthik screamed because Anu screamed.
Meera searched for candles.
Lakshmi searched for snacks.
Ravi searched for WiFi signal even though electricity was gone.
Priorities.
Finally the hall glowed with candles and emergency lights.
Rain hammered outside.
Wind whistled through windows.
The atmosphere became strangely beautiful.
For almost two minutes the family sat quietly.
Then grandfather announced:
“Time for ghost stories.”
“No,” said Meera immediately.
“Yes!” shouted Anu happily.
“Definitely no,” whispered Ravi nervously.
Everyone stared at him.
“You’re scared of ghost stories?” asked Karthik.
“I respect supernatural privacy.”
Lakshmi started first.
“When I was young,” she whispered dramatically,
“there was a woman in white near our village well…”
Thunder boomed exactly then.
Perfect timing.
Anu pulled blanket over her face.
Even Bruno stopped chewing his toy.
Lakshmi continued slowly.
“She appeared only during rainy nights… carrying a lantern…”
Suddenly the bathroom door creaked open by itself.
Ravi jumped so hard he spilled tea on himself.
Grandfather laughed uncontrollably.
“It’s wind, not ghost!”
Then came another sound.
TAP.
TAP.
TAP.
From the kitchen.
Everyone froze.
Even Lakshmi stopped talking.
The tapping continued.
Slow.
Mysterious.
Karthik whispered,
“I think something is there.”
Ravi held a candle like a warrior entering battle.
The family followed behind him in a single terrified line.
Slowly…
carefully…
they entered the kitchen.
TAP.
TAP.
TAP.
Ravi lifted the candle dramatically toward the sound.
It was…
a leaking tap.
Complete silence.
Grandfather nearly fell laughing.
“Killer water ghost!”
But the universe had one final joke.
Just as everyone relaxed, lightning flashed brightly outside.
For one second, a tall shadow appeared near the window.
Anu screamed.
Meera screamed.
Ravi screamed in three languages.
Bruno barked like security chief.
The shadow moved again.
Karthik slowly opened the curtain.
Outside stood grandfather’s white dhoti hanging on clothesline.
Waving majestically in the wind.
Nobody spoke for five seconds.
Then Lakshmi sat down laughing so hard tears rolled down her cheeks.
Soon the entire family laughed with her.
The rain continued outside.
Candles flickered warmly.
And slowly, without phones, TV, or internet…
the family began talking properly.
Old memories.
Childhood stories.
Embarrassing secrets.
Dreams.
Failures.
Laughter echoed through the dark house till midnight.
Much later, while everyone slept peacefully in the hall together…
Ravi quietly whispered:
“Maybe power cuts are not so bad.”
Then from the darkness grandfather replied:
“Except for mosquitoes.”
SLAP.
“AYYO!” shouted Ravi immediately.
The blackout continued.
So did the laughter.