I’m Amber, raised by my mom and our cat Waffle in a small apartment. I studied law because Mom insisted, even though my true passion was photography. She always dismissed it as a childish hobby, pushing me to stick with a “real career.”
One day, while calming down at a flea market, I spotted an old 35mm camera with an undeveloped roll of film inside. When I got the photos developed, I was stunned to see a picture of myself as a child — not holding my mom’s hand, but a smiling man’s. I realized it must be my father.
Confronting Mom only led to denial and anger. Determined, I went to the amusement park from the photo and met a woman who connected me to her dad — the man in the picture. He turned out to be my father, who’d been sober for decades and never stopped wondering about me.
That day changed everything. I discovered my mom had kept his existence a secret, fearing losing me. Now, I balance law with photography, and I regularly visit the park with my dad, Waffle, and my new sister. Eventually, Mom accepted the truth, and we began rebuilding our family story.
The camera didn’t just develop film — it uncovered a hidden part of my life and gave me a new family to cherish.
