My mom died 30 years ago. On my cake day, I wanted to see her. [warning: AI content]

My mom passed away when I was 15 (fucking cancer) at the age I am now (45).

I don’t have many photos of her. Worse than that, my memories started fading years ago. Little details first, then expressions, then the sound of her voice. And I never got to see her grow older. There’s something unsettling, almost frightening, about realizing I’m now older than she ever was.

So I fed an old photo into Gemini and asked it to give me my mom back, as if she were still around. I asked for a few images. One with my brother and me, too. Just… a glimpse of what never got to exist.

Now I’m sitting here feeling sad and happy at the same time. There’s a smile on my face, and a little sparkle in my eyes (probably the tears doing their thing).

Today is my cake day, fellow imgurians. And honestly… this is all I wanted.