"I want to thank you like this. With his smile. Because that's how I'd like you to continue to remember him: happy, carefree, full of life." These are the words of his mother Romina , delivered in a social media message accompanied by a video of images and smiles of Graziano Marcialis, the 17-year-old boy who lost his life a week ago in Nuoro after a tragic motorcycle accident on Via Ballero.
Words that express the greatest pain, that of a mother who for seven days has lived with an unbearable absence, but also gratitude to those who continue to keep her boy's memory alive. Those young friends who return every evening to that spot, in front of the cemetery, where Graziano lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into the steps. They remain there, together, as if unwilling to leave their friend alone, transforming that place into a space of memory and affection. What seemed like a trivial accident like so many others turned into a tragedy that shattered a family and affected an entire community. A massive hemorrhage took Graziano, leaving a profound void in the lives of his mother Romina, his father Andrea, and all who knew him.
" Only a week has passed ," Romina writes, "and since that day my heart has broken in a way I never knew could exist ." In her message, the pain becomes almost physical: "It's not just my heart that hurts. My breathing hurts. My stomach hurts. Every part of me hurts." The description of an absence that affects every moment of the day, from waking up to the moment reality sets in again. But within that pain, there's also a thank you to the kids who shared friendship, laughter, and moments of life with Graziano. " Through your videos, your memories, and your words, I continue to see my Graziano alive ," his mother writes. It's precisely those memories that bring back the image of the boy everyone wants to keep: a smiling young man, full of energy, capable of leaving a mark on those who were close to him.
"Thank you for making me know even more about the wonderful boy my son was," Romina adds, entrusting the community with the most precious portrait of Graziano. And then a phrase that encapsulates the unbreakable bond of a family: "The last image is the four of us. Because that's how we will continue to be. Forever." A week after the tragedy, Nuoro continues to rally around the Marcialis family. Graziano is no longer just the memory of a tragic night, but the smile that friends, family, and those who knew him choose to cherish.