Wanton indulgence

Hugo felt as if his feet were stepping on cotton, unable to maintain his balance. His mind was clear, extremely clear, but his brain seemed to be operating at a snail's pace. He couldn't discern his own position, and the feeling was not unpleasant but rather like being on a roller coaster, swaying and swinging. "Where are we going again?"

"Looking... looking for Uma! Your Wonder Woman!" A sharp voice came from beside him, piercing Hugo's ears. He turned around and saw Leonardo twirling a jacket on top of his head, then suddenly throwing it away, making a "whoosh" sound, followed by bursts of laughter. "I caught her, I caught Uma! Hey, Hugo, I got your girl."

"Uma is not a buffalo!" Hugo stood next to Leonardo, watching him act like a monkey, and couldn't help but burst into laughter. Fragmented pieces of memories also started piecing together in his mind.

They were celebrating the New Year in a bar, welcoming the arrival of 1993. As the countdown "ten, nine, eight... two, one" resounded, their group of friends hugged each other and drank, welcoming the first second of the new year. After midnight, the party entered a whole new phase, and everyone got drunk.

Hugo and his group of friends planned to go to other bars and celebrate the arrival of the new year with unfamiliar friends. There were about twenty of them, and they visited one bar after another along Third Street, drinking each time. Somewhere along the way, Hugo and Leonardo got lost, unsure if they were the ones who got separated or if everyone else scattered.

Hugo couldn't remember if it was the seventh or eighth bar when he started shouting that he wanted to find Uma and celebrate the arrival of 1993 with his girl. Leonardo volunteered to lead the way, and the two of them went from one bar to another in a dazed state until they ended up here. Hugo had no idea what happened in between.

Watching Leonardo excitedly shouting while holding a wooden stake, Hugo chuckled. "Uma isn't that short." But after saying it, Hugo found it quite funny himself, and he laughed at himself, thoroughly amused. After finally stopping, Hugo furrowed his brow and surveyed his surroundings. "Where's the bar? Why isn't there a bar here? We... we were looking for a bar, right?"

"There! Over there!" Leonardo pointed to a dimly lit lantern not far away and ran towards it excitedly. He had somehow lost the jacket he was holding, and his voice, already at the end of puberty, became sharp and hoarse due to excessive alcohol intake, fragmented in the chilly sea breeze. Hugo felt surrounded by Leonardo's voice from all directions.

"Where?" Hugo could only see a hazy view in front of him. Actually, he knew where he was and what he was doing, but his brain was almost at a standstill, making it impossible for him to make clear judgments. He could only passively follow his instincts and act. "Hey, Leo, where?"

"Here!" Leonardo stood not far away, shaking his whole body. Hugo finally saw him and started walking towards him.

"Why is the grass so tall here?" Hugo muttered and complained. He lifted his clumsy and heavy feet, attempting to leap over, but he had lost his sense of height and length. His feet lacked strength. He took a step and managed to cross, but when his right foot landed, it gave way, and he stumbled, nearly falling. "Damn it!" Hugo cursed in frustration.

"This bar also has a garden, how about that... Oh, damn it..." Leonardo was speaking ahead, then suddenly howled in pain. Hugo couldn't see clearly, he only saw a blurry figure that was just in front of him, but suddenly disappeared. He searched around and finally saw a struggling human-shaped shadow on the ground.

Hugo took steps forward, one shallow and one deep, while still thinking in his head, why is the concrete floor so soft, is it a beach? But before he could ponder deeply, his head collided with a resilient crossbar. While his feet continued moving forward due to inertia, his head was stopped, and he was propelled into the air, landing directly on the ground. "Oh, my goodness!"

Hugo felt like his whole body was about to fall apart. He turned into a pile of mud in an instant and lay on the ground unable to move. He thought he was about twenty yards away from Leonardo just a moment ago, but halfway through his run, he was unexpectedly obstructed, causing him to fall down completely due to the abrupt halt.

Hugo opened his blurry eyes and tried to figure out what had blocked his path. His feet explored the front but found no obstacle. Then, in the dim light, he saw a fuzzy rope, adorned with specks of starlight, as if it were some kind of magical artifact. But Hugo knew it was just a clothesline. However, he no longer had the energy to ponder why there was a clothesline at the entrance of a bar.

"Leo, Leo?" Hugo could hear a low moaning sound nearby but couldn't find Leonardo. He reached out with his left hand and finally touched a scorching body. "Leo, are you alright?" Having already lost control of his body due to the alcohol and now suffering a fierce blow, Hugo felt that he didn't want to and couldn't stand up.

"Oh, Hugo... Oh... I feel terrible..." Leonardo's moans immediately alerted Hugo's somewhat clear mind to the gravity of the situation. Although he still couldn't figure out how to handle the situation, his remaining cognitive abilities told him that he should at least check on Leonardo's condition.

Hugo grabbed Leonardo's arm with his left hand, trying to sit up. But he found that it took too much effort, so he had to roll on the ground in the direction of Leonardo. As expected, he immediately felt the hindrance of the scorching body behind him. Hugo struggled to adjust his body. "Leo, what's wrong with you?"

Before Leonardo could answer, Hugo heard a "retch" sound, and then a warm liquid mixed with solid matter splashed onto his left hand, penetrating his shirt and coming into contact with his skin. The sour and foul smell was unpleasant. Hugo's brain vaguely understood what had happened, but there was no time to think. He also vomited with a "retch", not knowing where he was vomiting. His brain went blank, and he vomited until he was dizzy. Hugo strongly suspected that Leonardo had emptied his dinner before attending the Sydney party.

After finishing vomiting, Hugo felt like all the strength had drained from his body. His previously somewhat clear mind shut down like a power outage, gradually descending into darkness. Then Hugo closed his eyes in a daze, knowing nothing at all.

If someone happened to pass by, they would see two people lying on the lawn in front of an ordinary household. The clothes on the lawn were in disarray, scattered on the ground along with a fallen clothesline. However, that was not the worst part. What was even worse was that the two individuals were sleeping right next to their vomit, displaying typical behavior of drunken men. It was enough to make anyone's stomach churn, even those who hadn't consumed any alcohol.

Fortunately, it was late at night, and everyone was busy celebrating the arrival of the new year. The streets were filled with people driven to madness by alcohol, so no one noticed the two drunkards in this particular spot.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but Hugo gradually woke up from his daze. He felt a heavy fog in his mind and had no idea where he was. Luckily, he seemed to have regained control over his body. He sat up and saw the mess he was lying in, prompting a chuckle from him. It felt like his former life of glory until death had returned.

When he turned his head, Hugo saw the figure lying next to him. It wasn't his bandmate from Death or Glory but Leonardo. This realization made Hugo shudder. He was now wearing only a shirt, which was wet. The pitch-black night and faint, sporadic noises indicated that it was still early in the morning. No wonder he felt so cold.

Hugo shook Leonardo, but he showed no signs of waking up. Helpless, Hugo stood up, surveyed the surroundings, and realized they were lying in someone else's yard, creating a complete mess. He made a wry face. Hugo shook Leonardo once again, saying, "Leo, wake up. We can't stay here." He shook him with more force this time, and finally, Leonardo woke up, groaning softly.

Hugo laughed, but that laughter caused a throbbing pain in his forehead. He massaged his temples and said, "Get up! We have to leave." Hugo bent down and helped Leonardo to his feet. Leaning on each other, they stumbled away, passing the lilac bushes surrounding the lawn. Hugo spotted his jacket hanging on one of the lilac bushes and couldn't help but burst into laughter. He casually grabbed the jacket and continued walking along the paved path.

Hugo surveyed the surroundings, trying to figure out their location. However, he realized they had already walked quite a distance from Third Street. They had actually reached the beach, with the late-night sea breeze relentlessly blowing, causing both Hugo and Leonardo to shiver uncontrollably. They could only rely on each other, using their bodies to withstand the onslaught of the sea breeze.

After walking a short distance, Hugo started feeling sore all over. Although he was now mostly sober, his body hadn't fully recovered. Leonardo was in an even worse state, practically leaning on Hugo. It was a tremendous effort for Hugo to support him. Helpless, Hugo looked around and noticed a lifeguard observation tower not far away, where they usually observed the sea level. It could provide some shelter from the wind.

Assisting Leonardo, Hugo made their way off the beach and stumbled towards the observation tower, hoping to find some respite from the wind there.