The stormy Nevola River snatched Mattia, her 8-year-old treasure from her hands. On the evening of September 15, it upset the life of Silvia Mereu, the mother of the special child who was the victim of the flood that swept the Marche region. "Part of me died that night." Heartbreaking thought sewn on the heart of Silvia, 40, a pharmacist.

The drama

He has Ogliastra blood, the woman who carried Mattia Luconi in her womb for 9 months, pampered him and watched him grow. Up to seeing it get out of hand , overcome by the water that had invaded the Mercedes A-Class on which they had set off after greeting father Tiziano Luconi. An atrocious drama. "Maybe I could have done more to save him," Silvia whispers. Remorse that has settled like a worm in the heart of the doctor, linked to the origins of the parents. He reserves words of thanks to Urzulei, Ogliastra and the whole of Sardinia. "I appreciated every initiative, I felt Sardinia close to me right now: thank you, thank you, thank you".

The story

The flood surprised them in their car as they were returning from Barbara to San Lorenzo in the field. It should have been an evening like many others, seasoned with Mattia's adrenaline for the first few days in third grade. «It was raining a lot - says Silvia - and we found ourselves with the car flooded with water. Mattia was sitting on the passenger side ». Mother Silvia had just finished her shift in Barbara's pharmacy, she had gone to pick up the baby from his father's house. Two weeks after the tragedy that shocked Italy, he offers a meticulous reconstruction of those moments of terror: «Along the way there was everything, especially branches and trunks. When the water invaded the passenger compartment we left the driver's side window ». Here the lights of memories go out. Silvia holds only fragments of memories: «I have a visual image of Mattia clinging to a branch. At least I seem to remember this. We got out, I held it to me, then it slipped from my arms, I saw it clinging to a log then it was dragged away. Not knowing how to swim, I climbed, with difficulty, on a hill where they recovered me after two hours ».

Disturbed life

Silvia Mereu, after seven days, was discharged but her Mattia was not waiting for her outside the hospital. On Tuesday, on the day of farewell to the little one, Urzulei was also proclaimed city mourning. The mayor, Ennio Arba, thus wanted to interpret the pain of the entire community, which in the days of research filled the church of San Giovanni Battista for moments of intense prayer. An order issued as a sign of closeness to the family, which started half a century ago from the village at the foot of the Supramonte in search of fortune in the Marche region, where the community of Urzulei emigrants is quite large. Among these also the family of Silvia's father, Pasquale Mereu, who passed away about ten years ago. «I could see that the community of Urzulei - continues mother Silvia - gathered in prayer and invoked St. George. Mattia had never been to Urzulei, but many relatives knew him when they came to visit us here in the Marche. I feel Sardinian, although I was born here. Maybe next summer I will come, for now I can say that Urzulei and Sardinia are giving me great fortitude despite the physical distance. I am grateful to everyone, I really want to reiterate it ».

Roberto Secci

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