Uma's apology

"It's a beautiful day. Sky falls, you feel like, it's a beautiful day. Don't let it get away."

Hugo's inner emotions involuntarily turned into a melody, flowing out from his mouth, spreading its wings of imagination in front of the dazzling sun. It transformed all the beauty into a freely soaring melody. Due to the effects of a hangover, Hugo's voice became hoarse. The usually mellow and warm tone now carried a rough and roaring sensation, infusing infinite colors into this lofty melody.

The grandeur of nature easily evokes people's emotions, whether it's simple shouting, emotional expression, or the venting of inner feelings. When a poet witnesses such magnificent landscapes, it's possible for their poetic inspiration to surge. As a music composer, Hugo's thoughts instantly transformed into a flowing melody. This feeling was so beautiful that Hugo lingered, not wanting to come back to reality.

Leonardo heard Hugo's singing and involuntarily turned to look at him, but he couldn't bear to miss the sunrise in front of him. However, Hugo's lingering melody kept circling in his ears, so he turned to look at Hugo once again and couldn't help but ask, "What song is this?"

Hugo shrugged, "I don't know, I just composed it." Those two lyrics kept circling in his mind, but he couldn't connect them into a complete piece. So Hugo didn't force it and simply hummed this melody.

"You mean, just now?" Leonardo looked at Hugo in astonishment. He had never seen a musician compose on the spot before. The process seemed miraculous, like the miracle of a sunrise.

"Yes," Hugo smiled and nodded, then looked at Leonardo joyfully, saying, "But only these lines for now. I don't know if it's the overwhelming beauty of the sunrise that has my brain stuck or if the alcohol is still controlling my mind. So, only this much."

Creation relies on inspiration. Perhaps Hugo could accept a task like on Oprah's talk show and create a song like "Sunburn". But at the same time, Hugo could end up like now, only creating a fragment and hoping to find inspiration in the future to complete the song.

Leonardo wanted to make a comment, but his brain's capacity to function was limited at the moment. In the end, he could only dryly ask, "What's the name of this song?"

"You won't name a song with just a couple of lines, will you?" Hugo laughed happily. "But for the sake of marking it, let's temporarily call it "Beautiful Day"."

Leonardo murmured the name of the song twice and fell silent. He just looked at the sunrise again, quietly feeling the warmth of the sunlight on his skin.

When the sun reached an angle of thirty degrees, its ascent slowed down. Hugo called for Leonardo to stand up and brushed off the sand, then they both walked in the direction of Third Street, their steps deep and shallow. The radiant sunlight made the first morning of the year particularly beautiful.

Upon returning to Third Street, Hugo and Leonardo didn't have to put in much effort to find Alex and the others at "Barney's Beanery". Nobody had gone home; everyone was sleeping on the tables in the bar, lost in dreams. It seemed that nobody noticed the disappearance of Hugo and Leonardo, just as they hadn't noticed the disappearance of Tobey and Karl. After waiting for a while in the bar, Tobey and Karl also stumbled back to the bar, seemingly no better off than Hugo and Leonardo. As for Charlize, she had collapsed with a group of girls in the staff lounge on the second floor of the bar, apparently partying until dawn.

After a night of heavy drinking, everyone had a terrible headache and no one was able to drive. They ended up calling a taxi using the bar's phone and had each person sent home. Hugo forced himself to freshen up because his body was covered in vomit and sand, and he couldn't get a good night's sleep. After finishing his shower, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep slumber.

After sleeping for who knows how many hours, Hugo was awakened by someone shaking him. He tried to open his eyes but found it difficult, as if his eyelids were swollen and heavy. He finally managed to open his eyes and saw Uma sitting at the end of his bed, looking at him intently.

Hugo rubbed his eyes, sat up halfway, and looked at Uma in a dazed state, not knowing what to say. Uma pulled a slight smile, "Did you have fun last night?" Hugo sat up, didn't answer immediately, just lowered his eyelids, and after a while, lazily responded with a "Hmm."

Seeing Hugo's reaction, Uma knew that Hugo was still upset about last night. She held Hugo's ankle, prompting him to lift his gaze and look at her, and then she said, "I'm sorry, I really am." Uma's green eyes conveyed infinite sincerity, unwaveringly staring at Hugo, hoping he could feel her genuine remorse.

Hugo moved his lips slightly, wanting to say something, but he didn't know what would be appropriate. Just as Hugo was hesitating, Uma immediately stood up, walked to the table by the door, and brought a plate with a cup of hot milk and two slices of honey-coated toast back to the bed. She sat down again and said, "I know you drank a lot last night, and your head must be pounding today. Drinking some hot milk will make you feel better."

Uma placed the plate on her lap and handed the milk to Hugo.

Hugo looked at the steaming milk in front of him but didn't make a move. Uma stared at him with wide eyes and then nudged the milk forward slightly, using this gesture to express her apology. Hugo let out a sigh and finally took the milk, which immediately brought a radiant smile to Uma's face. She reminded him, "Be careful, it's hot."

Hugo lowered his head and took a sip of the milk. The warm liquid slid down his throat into his stomach, gradually warming up his originally cold stomach, and he instantly felt much better. In fact, after watching the sunrise this morning and then taking a nap, Hugo had already sobered up from the alcohol. He just felt a bit sluggish in his body. Now, drinking a glass of milk helped him relax further.

Uma picked up the toast. "I heard that drinking milk on an empty stomach after alcohol is not good. Have a little toast to line your stomach." Uma's tone today was devoid of her usual assertiveness and sharpness. Instead, it was filled with infinite tenderness, which made Hugo somewhat uncomfortable. But Hugo also knew that Uma was expressing her apology through her actions. "It's almost lunchtime now. Eat something first, then we can figure out what you want for lunch. After freshening up, we can have lunch."

This time, Hugo didn't refuse. He picked up the toast, which was slightly toasted and exuded the sweet aroma of honey. Paired with the texture of the milk, everything became beautiful again.

Uma put the plate from her knee onto the floor and started massaging Hugo's legs. Seeing her being so attentive, Hugo couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're not a professional masseuse, so you don't have to massage me."

However, Uma didn't stop her hands and continued pressing firmly. She said, "Your legs are a bit swollen. Let me massage them first, and then you can take a bath. You'll feel much better." Uma didn't look up, focusing on massaging Hugo's legs.

Seeing Uma like this, Hugo's complaints gradually faded away. Although he still couldn't understand why Uma chose to stay at Sydney's house last night, as Uma said, he had his own thoughts, and she had hers. Many times he couldn't expect her to do everything according to his rules, and vice versa.

"You know, Alex was very disappointed that you didn't show up last night," Hugo finally spoke, his voice still hoarse, with a hint of laziness. However, Uma didn't have time to pay attention to these details. When she heard Hugo speak, she immediately looked up, her eyes filled with joy. Then she realized the seriousness of Hugo's topic and retracted her smile, nodding forcefully.

"I know," Uma said, "I'll go and formally apologize to Alex in a while!"

Hugo placed the toast and milk on the bedside table, grabbed Uma's hands on his legs, pulled her closer, and asked, "What about you? Did everything go well last night?" Since Uma chose to stay at Sydney's house for New Year's Eve without his help, it must have been difficult for her to handle things alone.

Uma didn't expect Hugo to bring up this matter on his own. She hesitated for a moment and cautiously said, "Yes, everything went well." Hugo smiled, a sense of relief appearing in his eyes. Uma knew that Hugo was worried about her, and her heart softened. She held Hugo's hands back and said, "Don't worry, I'm not a child. I know what I'm doing."

This remark made Hugo burst into laughter, "You've always known what you're doing, like breaking into a man's house in the middle of the night." Hugo's words immediately made Uma blush with anger, baring her teeth to express her displeasure. But to her surprise, it only made Hugo happier.

Uma gave a firm pat on Hugo's hand, making him stop. "Get up, go freshen up, and think about what you want for lunch. You probably didn't eat anything last night, right?"

Hugo pouted and nodded, "I vomited everything I ate. Now I'm hungry." Seeing the man in front of her acting cute, Uma couldn't help but smile. But then Hugo casually added, "Oh, by the way, Charlize and Alex also drank a lot. Wake them up and see what everyone wants to eat."

When Uma heard Charlize's name, her expression paused for a moment. No woman would like her man casually mentioning another woman's name, especially when she thought about Hugo and Charlize spending New Year's Eve together last night, even though there were many other friends around. It made her uncomfortable. But then she realized that it was her own choice, so Uma could only sigh in her heart and gather her spirits. "Alright, you go freshen up. I'll go call Charlize."