On 05/16/2023 in Borgo Ronta the hands of the clock hanging above the fireplace stopped at 9.36 pm. From that moment on there will be a before and an after, because it is the moment in which everything changes, everything is enveloped in darkness, the light is out, total blackout outside and inside me, the water is on the ceiling, the mud has crept in everywhere, we have saved what we can save and now there is nothing left to recover or do, now we just have to wait for nature to take its course in the hope that it will spare us and our home.
Dejection, discouragement, resignation and impotence are the feelings that make their way into my mind… there is a sort of apparent calm, you can only hear the water flowing, everything has taken on a strange, faded shape and colour, we are all immobile, helpless, almost in a catatonic state, waiting to be able to do something…if there is still something to do…
Then finally, after a sleepless night and a whole day spent with folded arms, staring into space, the long-awaited miracle happens, the water disappears, showing obvious damage caused by the unprecedented violence with which it raged against us. mother nature… unfortunately also claiming several innocent victims with her uncontainable and unstoppable fury.
Then something big happens, it happens that all the colors return, they return because suddenly there are you “Mud Angels” who are crowding Via Ravennate; you are full of whatever you think might be useful, but above all you are full of the desire to do, to help, to collaborate, to share; you are not interested in getting your hands and clothes dirty, you are ready to work hard, to make yourself available to everyone, to lend a hand to unknown people who are in difficulty, you always have a smile and a good word for everyone; you work incessantly without stopping with us like us and more than us, without complaining, without feeling tired and all with the same question: “how can I help?” » » and at this point what inevitably happens is that your eyes fill with tears, and it’s just hands and arms that hold you to comfort you, to keep you from being discouraged, to give you their solidarity and to show you that you really are not alone, that we’re going forward together with heads held high, rediscovering lost dignity and identities that each of you helps us to seek in lost affections and memories.
I wrote this article for two reasons:
Because it gave me the opportunity to put what happened in black and white, to let out strong emotions, to bring hidden memories back to light, so that 1 year later I could metabolize how lucky I was despite everything;
Because it allows me to focus my attention not on the disaster but on everything beautiful that has happened around it and to say THANK YOU again; yes, because if we survived and came out stronger than before it is only thanks to you who helped us not to give up, to believe in ourselves, to work as a team, to laugh even in difficulties, to show our weaknesses without being ashamed , but above all because you taught us that you can give unconditionally without expecting anything in return, that you don’t give up and that everything is possible…
Let’s all treasure what happened and let’s not forget!
Silvia Said
