It was the hottest night of May in Jaipur. The power had gone out — another power cut! Aarav lay on his terrace, staring at the full moon.

His phone buzzed. A message from Rahul: “Can’t sleep. Too hot. Terrace cricket?”

Aarav grinned. Within minutes, messages flew between their friend group. Arjun: “I’m in!” Priya: “Count me in!” Sneha: “Meet at the ground in 10 minutes!”

Five friends tiptoed out of their houses and met at the empty neighbourhood ground. The full moon was so bright that everything was bathed in silver light.

“We don’t even need floodlights!” laughed Arjun. “The moon is our stadium light!”

They used a tennis ball wrapped in white tape (so they could see it), a makeshift bat from an old plank, and school bags as wickets.

“Bowling first!” announced Rahul, taking a dramatic run-up like a professional bowler.

THWACK! Aarav hit the ball high into the moonlit sky. It soared like a bird and landed near the old peepal tree.

“SIX!” screamed everyone — then immediately covered their mouths. “Shhh! We’ll wake the whole colony!”

They played in whispers and giggles. Every boundary was celebrated with silent high-fives. Every wicket was followed by muffled cheering.

Priya turned out to be the best bowler. “Nobody expects the spin from a left-hander!” she said proudly.

Sneha hit the winning runs — a beautiful sweep shot that rolled past Arjun’s diving attempt.

“Girls team wins!” she announced, doing a quiet victory dance.

They lay on the cool grass afterwards, looking up at the stars. The Milky Way stretched across the sky like a river of diamonds.

“This is the best night ever,” whispered Priya.

“Better than any cricket match on TV,” agreed Rahul.

“Promise we’ll do this every full moon?” asked Aarav.

“Promise!” said everyone together.

At 2 AM, they sneaked back home. Nobody’s parents ever found out — until years later, when they told the story at Aarav’s wedding, and everyone laughed.

The midnight cricket match became their favourite childhood memory. Because the best games aren’t played in stadiums — they’re played under moonlight, with friends, in bare feet, with laughter as the only soundtrack.