THE WEIGHT OF LOYALTY

Chapter 1: The Weight of Loyalty

The thought of life always pulls me back to a whirlwind of memories—of hardship, success, and heartbreak. It all started in Dallas, when my father, Nazar, and my mother, Falunde, married and built a family of five children: three boys and two girls. They were overjoyed, or at least that’s what they wanted us to believe. But as the years went by, I began to sense that beneath our family’s cheerful surface lay secrets—secrets that were never spoken, only lived.

Sometimes, I wonder: Do other families live “normal” lives, or does every family carry its own hidden burdens? And what about loyalty? What does loyalty truly mean?

Loyalty is a word people use easily, but is it something we deserve or something we demand? How often do we expect loyalty from others without considering if our own actions are right or wrong? Selfishness clouds our judgment, making us crave loyalty even if it comes at someone else’s expense. We forget that forcing loyalty strips others of their choice, and in doing so, we might destroy the very bonds we hoped to preserve.

I’ve seen it play out countless times. If someone chooses to stand by you blindly, they may come to resent you in the future. If they don’t, you might end up hating them for not “having your back.” Either way, the relationship fractures, and you’re left wondering where it all went wrong.

People who treat others poorly—be it family, in-laws, or employees—often find themselves haunted by their past. They’ll ask, “Why is this happening to me?” without realizing they paved the road to their own misery. Power can make us feel invincible, but it’s a fleeting sensation, a mirage that quickly fades.

This brings me to my sister, Latifa. She’s haunted by a choice she made 22 years ago—a choice that still shadows her every day. Sometimes, it’s too late to apologize or recognize the damage done. But the question remains: Why make that choice in the first place? Why risk everything, knowing the consequences could linger for a lifetime?

CHAPTER 2 COMING SOON