“We wrote to each other the afternoon before. You could have told me»- Corriere.it

The smiling face of Julia Ituma look down on everyone in the silence of the PalaRadi. It is projected next to the scoreboard and scoreboard Anna Piovesan19-year-old spiker fromExperience Cremonain Saturday’s match against Sigel Marsala he scores 21, the most of all. She is rewarded as mvp, but this does not return the smile. Since Thursday, since her Julia is gone, she’s been scrolling through the gallery on her cell phone. Many photos together, from the field to the beach, from the gym to the mirror in front of which they used to make up before going out in the evening. He sees them and sees them again and again.

Then a piece of paper and a pen to let off steam and fix a memory that Anna delivers to Courier: «
I’ll never really know what gave you the strength to jump into the void
he writes. I will hypothesize, I will try to understand, to reason. You were there in the worst period of my life and I would have liked to know that now you were facing yours, despite the fact that you always repeated to myself that everything was fine, that you were happy. Probably, seeing you in person, I would have understood. We were supposed to do it when you got back from Türkiye. Perhaps, precisely because we had plans, I still don’t fully realize what happened».

The call the day before, the Olympics dream

On Thursday, Anna was in class, with her cell phone on the desk. The screen lights up, the first messages become calls: «But do you know what happened? Was he sick?” She turns the screen to Julia, but will never get an answer. Then the first article, the second. “We wrote to each other the afternoon before. You could have called me, you could have told me. I would have done anything, you know”, he continues in his letter. They had talked about the playoffs, joking about it. Julia would have faced Chieri, the team that holds Anna’s card. The two met in the national team: «On the bench, watching the others play, since we could barely catch the ball in flight. Then we arrived in A, with our times and our hunger. We promised each other the Olympics together, without knowing yet in what role. Some gangs, some opposites». A dream they always fantasized about, even two summers ago: «I was dealing with a bad injury, everything was dark. I didn’t see the light, I didn’t understand what to do – recalls Anna – I was sick, physically and mentally. Among the friends who held my hand and helped me hobble down the stairs, of course, there was also you».

The first plane: «We looked at the stars»

For Anna, Julia is Titta. Only she called her like this: «I took my first plane with you. You were sitting right behind me, I kept asking “Are we speeding up? How long until we fly?”. And you laughed. Then at 1000 meters from the ground: “Ah sleep, we are flying”. And we laughed again. We took a beach house last year to unwind from all the pressure around you at the gym. We were there for three days and you left me your shirt. Partly because “I don’t need it anyway”, partly because it’s always been your way of showing affection to people. You did it through gestures. If the world were to fall “I love you” you hardly ever said it. The following year, despite the cold, we spent hours on those deckchairs in the mountains silently looking at the stars. Every now and then we said something silly and burst out laughing like two idiots».

The competitions at the weights, the laughter until the belly ache

And then there was no better couple than Rains And Titus to the weights: «You can ask anyone. I spent the longest plank of my life with you, so as not to let you win. We cheered on the bench press as if we were giving birth, but you always won there, hands down. At just 16 we did almost 90 kg of squats and, if you set records, I had to do it too. If I did it, the next day you were already over it. We both liked to dribble instead of bagher and we all stood up when we tried. In 90% of cases it ended with a double tap and a reprimand. How many aces, hands outs and blocks have we dealt. How many smiles though. Besides, I can’t remember how many times I’ve helped you choose hair colors. I don’t remember a single lunch, dinner or breakfast that wasn’t at the table with you. I don’t remember an evening, a coffee, a walk to the mall or a movie that we didn’t see together. That music that only you listen to, the one fixed with the parmesan, that: “I’ll have three first courses but not the meat’, the laughter until my stomach aches…”».

“I just want your hug”

Anna remembers everything. Every now and then she smiles, but not much: «Crying for so long is not easy. I don’t know what I feel, I don’t feel anything, I miss the air. Maybe you felt this too? All I need now is one of those spontaneous hugs you gave me by surprise, when I didn’t see you but I felt you and immediately understood that it was you. I’d like to hear you. I would like to feel you on my skin and caress that hair so long to dry. I will always be by your side.”