Ashes of a Father

Shadow of Zafir

By: Velma Loftin-Stoneburner, R. J. Stoneburner

Narrated by: K W Helm

Fatima’s return to Kabul after six years marks the beginning of a journey, she never thought she would take. Her mother, Aisha, is dying, and the city she once fled from calls her back—not just to mourn, but to face the ghosts of her past. Her father, Mustafa, and her uncle, Reza, are waiting for her, but their intentions are veiled in ambiguity. And there, amid the memories of war and love, is Zafir—her former husband, the father of her daughter Zohra, and the man she thought she had lost forever.

To reclaim her daughter, Zohra, who has been raised in secrecy and believes her mother is dead, Fatima must confront not only Zafir but the complicated web of power, loyalty, and deception that has kept them apart.

As Zohra, now a skilled hacker in the U.S., begins to unravel the truth behind her father's transformation, she finds herself entangled in a conspiracy far darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined. Her search for answers leads her through the corridors of power, past shadowy figures, and into the heart of a secret that could change everything she knows about her family, her identity, and her future.

The Shadow of Zafir is a tale of love lost and found, of generational trauma and redemption, and the long shadows cast by the past. It asks: what do we become when our identities are stolen, when our memories are erased, and when the people we love are transformed into strangers? Perhaps most painfully, can we ever reclaim who we truly are when everything around us is built on lies?

©2025 R. J. "Josh" Stoneburner & Velma Loftin-Stoneburner (P)2025 R. J. "Josh" Stoneburner & Velma Loftin-Stoneburner