A few minutes have passed, screaming noises break the silence of the night: sirens from everywhere, ambulances, fire brigades, police, they will keep coming and going all night long. I try and try to reach my eldest daughter on the phone. She finally can reach me over an hour later, she just says "MAMMA! HOW ARE YOU ALL?" among the tears and sobs, she is in the city centre, she says "it's terrible, it's terrible...". She is well, she was just reached on the phone by the mother of her boyfriend who live along the coast, and they are already on their way to L'Aquila. They will take her and my other 2 kids with them, I accompany them among the ruins of the house at the entrance of the road, a lady was taken out, but her father is still underneath. I see my kids leaving, everyone is trembling, when will we meet again?
While waiting for the friends' car, I keep calling my brothers, sister, father. There is no coverage. I reach my father, 80 years old, living on the 4th floor, "sono vivo", he says there is no light, I tell him to move, to go slowly to the entrance door and start down the stairs, one by one, keeping his hands along the wall. I do not know if it is the correct procedure, but I fear another shake will come, and his house will not resist further, he cannot stay there. Later I learn he found the building door at ground floor blocked, but one of my brothers with his son had walked to Dad's house, and breaking a very small lateral window extracted him from the house. Another brother reaches me on the mobile, he and his family are fine too. Nobody can reach our youngest brother, living in an old renovated palace in the historical center, and 2 hours have already gone. Finally news come that he is safe, his brother in law from Dublin, Ireland, was able to reach his mobile. Our dear Mother, since 15 august 2007 up there wherever they are where they can see everything, has been shielding all her children and grandchildren from above with the blanket of her total mother's love.