"Would you like to go for a swim? Would you like to go tomorrow?" Behind a seemingly banal phrase, sometimes lies a kindness that opens the heart.
What happened to Giancarlo Beltrami and Riccardo Sechi is the clearest proof of this. The first is a pensioner, with the ailments of old age and an eye condition that effectively renders him blind; the second is a young lifeguard, in the prime of his life. Two worlds distinct in age and origin. But with a love in common: the sea. Which Beltrami, 77, was able to reclaim thanks to Sechi, 18. He could be his grandson. "I became his eyes in the sea," the boy now explains, "but Giancarlo, swimming behind me, managed to lead me to the center of my heart, making me discover the need to be useful to others."
The sea
This story begins in Assemini and Brescia, passes through Monserrato, and ends in Cagliari, at Poetto. Milvia Concas and her husband Efisio Piras live in the hinterland town. They are 61 and 66 years old, and with their friend Giancarlo, originally from central Lombardy, they share a Buddhist faith and long phone calls. So much so that they decided to host him, despite never having met him before, and to give him something that can't be bought: their time and vacation time. Beltrami was a former triathlete, but two years ago he lost his sight due to glaucoma. As soon as he arrived in Sardinia, at the invitation of the couple, new friends, he wanted to get closer to the sea: "It was my habitat," he explains. And he doesn't need to say anything else.
Young
Riccardo is from Monserrato, one of thirteen lifeguards on the Poetto public beach, and it's his first time: he's just earned his certification, but seven years of competitive swimming have made him confident. Every day since June, he's carefully scanned the beach and the horizon. It's always crowded, but the boy doesn't miss the plight of the man sitting next to the tower, his long white cane clutched in his hands, his sunglasses on. "Is everything okay?" he asks, "I'm the lifeguard, I'm here if you need me."
Love for others
