Surprise for L

It was a perfectly normal autumn day in Wammy's House. Inside, the children were doing all kinds of logical puzzles and playing board games as they usually did on a holiday. It was October 31, and apart from Halloween, there weren't really any other significant events taking place that day.

Except that it was also the birthday of a certain young, dark-haired, intelligent, sugar-loving individual.

L was crouching as usual in the windowsill on the 1st floor, one of his favorite places to sit, whilst looking at the scenery and chewing on his thumbnail. A small smile adorned his face. Even though he usually told people that birthdays really did not matter all that much to him, each year on his birthday Watari would make a special cake just for him, pat him on the head and say: "Happy Birthday, L," with fatherly affection in his voice, and L would smile, thank him and slowly enjoy the cake while sitting in the windowsill, genuinely happy for the attention. And the cake, mind you. Later the two would play chess and discuss important issues of all kinds over a cup of tea and sweets, and even later, when it was time to go to bed, L would always think back on the day with happiness.

And today was his 8th birthday. It was a special one, for L really liked the number 8 - it was symmetrical and the same even if turned upside down, and round like two bonbons on top of each other. He gazed up at the clock. Since Watari usually found him at 12 o'clock on his birthdays, he expected him to arrive in about half an hour. "I wonder if he has taken any special notice that it is my 8th birthday today," he thought to himself. As he speculated further, the clock moved forward.

12.01. "Watari should be here any time soon now," L thought.

12.13. "Well, any time soon now," he thought again.

12.24. "It seems he is taking his time," L mused. "I wonder…"

12.37. "Where is Watari? Why isn't he here yet?"

Another half hour later, he was puzzled. "This is strange. I am positive Watari hasn't forgotten about my birthday. This could mean one of two things - either something is wrong with him, or he could be planning something secretly… In any case, I must go find him."

L jumped down from the windowsill and went upstairs to his room to begin the search. On his bed there was a small, folded piece of paper that was slightly torn at the edges. He instantly picked it up and read the unfamiliarly scrawled message that was unfolded:

"This is a challenge. A secret is hidden here somewhere. 8 clues will take you there. But be warned - danger could be luring behind every corner. The first clue is this: Old memories and berries will lead you on your way. Good luck."

"A challenge?" L said. "Very well then. I accept."

And so L set out. Though the handwriting was slurred and a little smudgy as though it had been written with the 'wrong hand', it was clearly Watari who had written the note. It was equally clear to him that he should begin his search in the attic, and probably in some of his old belongings. Something - though he didn't yet know what it was - was underway, and it was deeply intriguing.

He didn't take the normal way to the attic, nor did he take the way through the loose ceiling tile via the ladder on the 4th floor. L had quickly deduced that the traps, if there were any, would be situated close to these two entry points. So he decided on something else: Entering through the roof window. There was a storage room, which among other things contained rope for the chimney sweeper, on the 4th floor, and L took some of the rope with him and tied it around his waist before opening the window and tying the other end to the drainpipe. Then he climbed out the window, onto the drainpipe and up on the roof. Luckily for him, L had never been afraid of heights, and he had good balance. It was easy for him to climb across the roof tiles, but considerably harder opening the window from outside. Eventually, he succeeded and made his way inside.

The attic was full of all kinds of used things, furniture, old paintings and other paraphernalia. But L was pretty sure of where and what to look for. In a far corner he found a small chest marked with the letter 'L' and opened it. The only content in the chest was a pair of strawberry-stained, old pajamas that had once belonged to him and an old blueprint of Wammy's House. He noted his position, folded the map together and put it in his pocket. Then he looked more closely at the pajamas. It seemed that there were more than one kind of strawberry stains on them - some that he had made by spilling on himself when he was younger, and some that were more recent. They were splattered in an uneven, not easily discernable pattern. "This is strange," L thought, "I was certain this was the clue, but there is no marking on them that defines them as such. No, wait… if I hold them like this, then…"

He tilted the pajamas about 80° to the right, and immediately the message occurred to him. It was a bit distorted, but the splatters now definitely looked more like the katakana characters hi, n and to, creating the word 'hinto', meaning 'hint'. L was part Japanese and had early on learned the basics of the language with Watari, and this also correlated with the 'old memories' part of the first clue. He looked triumphantly at the pajamas before him. He had figured it out. "So," he thought, "the next clue is in the washroom." And determined to win the challenge he made his way there, quickly, but carefully avoiding the traps Watari had laid out for him.

3 hours later, L had virtually explored what seemed to be every single nook and cranny of the mansion to find the treasure. He was beginning to feel a little tired. But now, at long last, the hidden secret was near! He was close to winning the game. The final clue would be waiting in the sitting room, about the only place in the mansion where he had not been yet, and quite possibly Watari would also be waiting there with cake, affectionate words, chess and tea. All the searching had made him look forward to it even more than he used to.

Expectation was gradually building up in his chest as he made his way there. The clue this time was a piece of paper stuck to the door to the sitting room and read simply: "Open the door." Puzzled, he pressed down on the handle.

"SURPRISE!"

Inside the room were all the children that lived with him at Wammy's, and in the middle of them all stood Watari, next to a tray with an 8-layered strawberry cream cake and a banner that read: "Happy 8th Birthday, L". He almost couldn't believe his own eyes. They had prepared all this while he was searching the mansion for that secret surprise, and all the children had joined Watari in celebrating him… Even though there was no real feelings of friendship between them, and he usually had a hard time understanding them and vice versa, they had done this to make him happy, and for that he was grateful. His eyes were glowing with happiness. "Thank you, everybody," he said as strongly as he could muster. The children smiled back at him, and L then did something he had never before done in his life - he ran over to Watari and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much," he whispered into his suit. The aging man gently put his arms around the young boy and patted him on the head as always. "Happy Birthday, L," he said.