From neverland-anime.com (Jan 15, 2019)

Written by Nanao

150144

After lunch that day, Ray was struggling to find the book he had been reading earlier.

“…Hm?”

It was neither in his bedroom nor the dining room, so he had no choice but to borrow a new book from the library. As usual, he twisted the doorknob, opened the door, and stepped into the room. Inside…

There was snow fluttering everywhere.

“Huh…? What’s going on?”

Ray’s eyes widened. At first glance, the entire library appeared to be covered in white. Upon closer inspection, the floor and shelves were actually draped in sheets—and it was paper confetti that filled the air. Ray caught a piece in the palm of his hand. The next moment, a loud voice rang out.

“Happy birthday, Ray!!”

Along with their voices, his siblings let loose a flurry of confetti from the second floor of the library. The billowing white snow engulfed the black-haired boy.

Ray stared at the confetti sprinkling down from overhead. His brothers and sisters were positively beaming on the other end.

I see… It’s my birthday.

Emma and Norman ran down the stairs and over to Ray.

“Isn’t this amazing? It was Norman’s idea!”

“We all cut ‘em up together.”

Norman showed off the confetti in his hand. Ray turned to the smug-looking pair before opening his mouth.

“It’s cool, but… why snow?”

Emma was baffled that Ray did not understand the significance of the surprise.

“Whaaat?! C’mon, Ray, didn’t you say that you wish it would snow?”

“Did I really say that?”

Since nothing came to mind immediately, Ray tilted his head and sifted through his memories.

“…Ahhh, I remember now.”

Ray recalled the words he had spoken the previous month.

That winter, not a single drop of snow had fallen on the House. The youngins, who had gone outside to play, were staring up at the sky with wistful looks on their faces. Alicia and Dominic expressed their desire to have a snowball fight; Rossi and Christy talked about how much they wanted to go sledding. It was in response to this pitiful scene that Ray had uttered the phrase, “If only it would snow.”

Apparently, the fact that he had done so spread among his siblings, which led to the current state of affairs.

“Do you… not like the snow, Ray?” asked Conny as she approached him with distress in her eyes.

Ray replied with a chuckle, his face hidden behind his bangs.

“Nah, I do like it. Thanks, guys.”

Emma and Norman looked at Ray’s expression, and exchanged a smile.

“Okay, let’s do this one more time! Happy tenth birthday, Ray!!”

Shouting once again, Emma and the others congratulated the birthday boy with a generous shower of confetti.