A Night without Power

**A Night Without Power**

One sunny afternoon, our peaceful household was thrown into chaos when an order was announced over the loudspeakers in the neighborhood. The message was simple: anyone who didn’t pay their light bill would have their electricity disconnected.

In that moment, it was as if a lightning bolt had struck right in the middle of our living room. An alarming situation erupted within the family. My mom gasped dramatically, clutching her chest as if the mere thought of a night without electricity was too much to bear. My younger siblings began wailing, visions of their favorite TV shows slipping away into the abyss of a dark, powerless night. Even our dog seemed to sense the gravity of the situation, whining pitifully as if to say, "What about my nighttime kibble run?"

A quick family meeting was called in the living room. My dad, normally the calm one, was pacing up and down, muttering something about how this would never have happened in his day. My mom was frantically checking her piggy bank, counting the coins she had saved for a rainy day. It was all hands on deck as everyone searched for any bit of change they could contribute. Under couch cushions, in old purses, even the "emergency chocolate stash" was raided—sacrifices had to be made!

After what felt like a treasure hunt in our own home, we finally pooled together enough money to pay the bill. A collective sigh of relief swept through the room. But now came the big question: who would brave the treacherous journey to the power department?

All eyes turned to me.

Of course, I was the lucky volunteer! After all, who could resist the allure of standing in line at a government office on a hot afternoon? So, armed with our hard-earned savings and a sense of urgency, I set off.

Within five minutes, I reached the power department office, marching in with the determination of someone about to save the world—or at least the night’s TV lineup. I approached the revenue collector’s desk, beaming with pride at how swiftly we had tackled the crisis.

“Excuse me, I’d like to pay our light bill,” I announced, placing the money on the counter as if it were the winning bid at an auction.

The revenue collector, a middle-aged man with a mustache that could rival any Bollywood villain, looked at me with a deadpan expression. He sighed heavily, as if my very presence was an inconvenience to his otherwise peaceful day.

“Sorry, kid,” he said, “but there’s no current.”

I blinked, sure I had misheard him. “No current? In the power department?” I repeated, the absurdity of the statement slowly dawning on me.

The collector nodded, his mustache twitching slightly. “Yup. No current. How can we collect bills without electricity?”

I stood there for a moment, trying to wrap my head around the irony. The power department itself had no power! I couldn’t help it—I burst out laughing, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation hitting me like a punchline to a joke.

The collector cracked a small smile too. “You’re not the first to laugh today. Welcome to the power department.”

I spent the rest of the day waiting in the sweltering heat, hoping the electricity would come back. But alas, the power remained out, and I eventually had to trudge home, the bill unpaid and my mission unfulfilled.

As I walked through the door, my family greeted me with expectant looks, and I simply shrugged. “The power department has no power,” I said, and they all burst into laughter. The irony wasn’t lost on any of us.

And so, we prepared for a night without electricity—candles in hand, snacks at the ready—realizing that sometimes, you just have to laugh at life’s little quirks.