Robert, Amanda’s father, left their family when she was a baby, and she has never been the same since. She was angry and hurt by him for years, and it got worse over time like an open wound. In the newspaper, Amanda saw a picture of her father with his new fiancée, Carla. This made her very angry, and she wanted to get back at her father.
Amanda’s plan was to ruin the bond between her dad and Carla. She broke into their house without permission and left one of her mother’s silver earrings on their bed. She did this to make them suspicious of each other and fight. What she planned worked, and soon Carla was telling Robert that she was cheating on him.
But Amanda started to feel bad about what she was doing as she watched from afar. She saw that her need for payback had taken over her life and made her forget what was really important. Amanda’s mother always told her how important it is to forgive, and now she felt compelled to do what her mother said.
Amanda chose to talk to her dad about what he did in the past and expect an explanation. She stood outside his house, scared and excited at the same time. Amanda told Carla that she was Robert’s daughter when she opened the door.
When Amanda opened up about the pain and problems she had faced growing up without a father, Robert was shocked and moved to tears. Robert listened carefully, and his face showed that he felt bad about what he had done.
Robert started to talk about his own problems as Amanda told her story. He talked about how ashamed and guilty he felt for leaving his family and how fear stopped him from going back. Amanda listened, and for the first time, she saw her dad not as a bad guy but as a broken person.
Amanda forgave her father out of the blue, and Robert, who was so moved by her forgiveness, reached out to take her hand. It was the end of an era and the start of a new one, and it would change the course of their friendship forever.
Amanda learnt from her trip how important it is to forgive and let go of anger and resentment. She understood that her father’s acts, even though they were hurtful and wrong, did not define who she was or what she was worth. It made Amanda feel free and at peace when she left her dad’s house, because she knew she had finally found closure and forgiveness.
