SWEPT AWAY
Reader's Digest US|February 2022
For the parents of the bride, fear replaces happiness as a raging river scoops up their car on the way to the wedding
Simon Hemelryk
SWEPT AWAY

Marjon van Eijk was excited. The 57-year-old from the Netherlands had just landed on the island of Mallorca with her family for the wedding of her daughter Iris van Eijk. It was a day she’d dreamed about.

The intimate ceremony was taking place the next day, October 10, 2018. Twenty-one guests were planning to gather at a stunning villa in the hills near the picturesque town of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, Spain, just under an hour’s drive from the airport.

“I can’t wait for the barbecue tonight, never mind the wedding,” Marjon told her mother, Bets Kasiu.

Kasiu was a sharp, warm-hearted 84-year-old, but she wasn’t in the best of health. A year earlier, she had had emergency surgery on a perforated intestine and now wore a colostomy bag. Hip problems meant she had to walk with crutches. But she was thrilled to be attending her granddaughter’s wedding in such a beautiful setting. She also felt comforted by the fact that the family had brought along a nurse, Marjon Theunissen, to help her.

The three women and van Eijk’s husband, Pieterjan van Eijk, walked out of the airport at around 6 p.m. and into a rental car. Iris and her fiancé, Coen Vlothuizen, were waiting at the property, thrilled to share such a magical event with the ones they loved.

On the road to Sant Llorenç, the family gazed at Mallorca’s rugged countryside, with its rolling, rocky slopes peppered by wispy grasses and low green trees. As they crossed the hilly landscape, the sun had gone down and rain was falling heavily. But that didn’t detract from the beauty of the island, off Spain’s eastern coast. They chatted happily. Pieterjan, a quiet historian, kept them amused with witty observations from the driver’s seat.

THE CAR LURCHED THROUGH THE WATER, ITS ROOF SCRAPING THE UNDERSIDE OF BRIDGES.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2022 من Reader's Digest US.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2022 من Reader's Digest US.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من READER'S DIGEST US مشاهدة الكل
Cookies for Forgiveness
Reader's Digest US

Cookies for Forgiveness

My blowup was half-baked. The apology wasn't

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Puff the Magic Pastry
Reader's Digest US

Puff the Magic Pastry

It always rises to the occasion

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
New Year's Traditions Around the World
Reader's Digest US

New Year's Traditions Around the World

1 MOST OF US spend the final seconds of each calendar year watching a nearly 12,000-pound geodesic sphere descend over Times Square in New York City.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Mom's Wall-Sign Wisdom
Reader's Digest US

Mom's Wall-Sign Wisdom

She never met a plaque or bumper sticker she didn't quote

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Protect Your 'Holiday Heart'
Reader's Digest US

Protect Your 'Holiday Heart'

This joyful time of year can also be dangerously stressful

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Heroes of the Holidays
Reader's Digest US

Heroes of the Holidays

It's not just Santa Claus bringing the holiday magic this season. As you'll see, he's got elves all over.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
The Man Who Looks After His Wife's Ex
Reader's Digest US

The Man Who Looks After His Wife's Ex

For him and his bride, \"in sickness and in health\" meant something really special

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
How Risky Are Those Holiday Cocktails, Really?
Reader's Digest US

How Risky Are Those Holiday Cocktails, Really?

The latest recommendations about drinking and your health

time-read
7 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
HOW ONE KENTUCKY TOWN SAVED ITSELF
Reader's Digest US

HOW ONE KENTUCKY TOWN SAVED ITSELF

Downtown Hazard had lost its small-town mojo to drugs. Former addicts are helping to bring it back.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Dream It, Do It, Done!
Reader's Digest US

Dream It, Do It, Done!

Your bucket-list goals, accomplished

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025