( WARNING: mention of alcohol abuse (not sure if that's entirely accurate but it's what I'm going with), if this bothers you please do not read. )   

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     The bar was mostly empty when he walked in and slouched into his regular seat. A lonely barstool in the far corner of the decently sized room next to the wall, which faced the front door of the bar. The three stools to his left, just before the bar counter turned a corner, had long since been broken and torn out. Never had been replaced. Upon the sole stool to his right lay a sheet of dust and cobweb, collected every now and then from near complete lack of occupants. Save for the occasional tourist or out-of-towner. The regulars in this town knew to give him space, some out of respect and others not.
     He turned his gaze towards the front door and lazily raised a hand to catch the attention of the barkeep, who had just entered the bar from having tossed out a few newcomers who'd obviously had too much to drink and tried to start a fight of some sort over the notorious Sra. Vermelho, called such for no one knew her true name (save the barkeep whose lips were sealed) and the fact that she always wore red. She came merely to seduce any man, or woman, who gazed upon her for a second too long. Seeming to find amusement in doing so. Though he himself knew to steer clear of the woman, and turned down any advances towards himself as soon as she ever approached.
    "The usual?" came the expected question as the barkeep neared his seat.
     "Yeah... make it a smaller this time though, won'tcha, Des?"
     Sr. Hernandes just shook his curly haired, mustached head, "Luiz, I swear, you've got to have alcohol running through your veins by now." Though even as he spoke he selected from an all too familiar shelf a bottle of wine and opened it before he gently slid a shot glass over to Luiz and poured it it full. He glanced over at his oldest customer as he set the bottle down before him.
     Luiz downed the cup in one go before he replied with a soft chuckle, "might as well at this point. Alcohol and sea water," Luiz poured himself another shot, "they used to say that's what made a man," he paused for a but a moment, 'well... that, and knowing more knots to a rope than a whole crew and its captain."
     Sr. Hernandez just smiled and shook his head before he turned around, "let me know if you need a call for a ride home," he said before he walked off to attend to other customers. Luiz just waved him off with a lazy mock salute and downed another cup full. He didn't really feel like much conversation currently, and therefore didn't tell his old somewhat-friend that he had no intention of getting as inhibited as usual. Just one bottle toda and he was finished until tomorrow.
     Baby steps, he had told himself, just take baby steps to begin with then move on to bigger steps and soon this addiction would be over before he could blink. As he poured his fourth cup he reminded himself of the promise he'd made to the ocean wind that day weeks ago. That he would stop his drinking for the betterment of his brothers. Though he had since amended his promise to merely not drink as much as often and coming home every day a cackling hungover mess. Luiz found that he couldn't bring himself to stop drinking completely, he just didn't have it in him to do it. And he mentally cursed himself for being so weak. It too much reminded him of older in days gone past when everything, for him at least, seemed so much better than as things stood now.
     He never received visits from family anymore, at least not any that counted on a deeper level, and he couldn't go visit them himself for various reasons. The main reason currently being that he wasn't certain if anyone even wanted to see him anymore. It sure didn't feel like it these days. So he usually spent his days either at home, the winery, or here in his most frequented bar. It had, had so many name changes over the years that Luiz had simply stopped bothering to memorize them. Instead trusting his feet to remember the path there and back. He mulled over all these thoughts and feelings as he finished off his bottle of white and took off back home for the evening. He gave Sr. Hernandes, whom Luiz had always simply called 'Des' for lack of ever having learned the man's name, a surprise. As he usually stayed until closing time, simply sitting quietly in solitude and drinking his liver away. It was truly a miracle the organ hadn't wasted away to nothing by now. Luiz didn't give Des, nor anyone else, a second glance as he passed through the front door and turned to make his way back home.

     Sitting on his old wooden porch, once returned home, Luiz sighed as he waited and watched the sun sink below the waves on the horizon. Lonely once more, yet now without a loud buzz in his skull and still aware of the silence of nature around him. And for once in many, many years he didn't have something drowning out his thoughts and feelings but rather let the heartache sit and fester at the forefront of his mid until he laid down in bed that night to sleep and start it all over again the next day. Having resigned himself to this new life of mere existence in the world— wanting and trying to force himself to get better and having no shoulder to lean on or helping hand to reach out for—  Luiz sighed and closed his eyes for another night of restless sleep.