Readers, kindly indulge me as I give you a glimpse of my family, which could mirror a part of the culture of my tribe, Maranaw.

Potri is a variant of Putri, which means princess in Indonesia. It is a common female name among Malays and the Moros of the Philippines. How my parents (may Allah grant them a place in Jannatul Firdaus or paradise) got the idea of naming the 6th of their brood of 7, Potri still amazes me.

My father, one of our province's pioneer educators and a bookworm, must have come across the name Potri. But my sister's full name is Lawan Potri. "Lawan" is a Maranaw superlative word roughly translated as "more or higher." Thus, Lawan Potri means more than a princess.

My other sisters are named in rhyme — Lawanbae, Lawansan Lawanun, and a brother, Macalawan. I supposed our mother derived these names from Maranaw mythology because she spent her spare time chanting melodious "kirim" or folklore, equivalent to "comic" magazines during those days. Later, when they went on a pilgrimage to Holy Mecca, they adopted the Arabic name — this being a tradition among Muslims.

Growing up, I overlooked the love for adventure and independence of Potri; I was most of the time consumed by my studies in schools in Iligan City and later in the University of the Philippines, Quezon City. But I have noticed the strength of character of my sisters in the face of adversities. Come hell or high water, they face challenges in life unbowed. They always come out unscathed — a trait our stern disciplinarian mother left to them.

When her husband was posted in Saudi Arabia as a Revenue Attachè, we visited them. In fact, during hajj pilgrimages that we performed, she was always there catering to our needs. But the next thing we learned, she went to the "land of milk and honey," the United States of America.

For whatever reason she had in migrating to the US, it remains a mystery. But she has her reason, and there are personal matters better left to a person to keep. We thought she went there for a tour, only to find out later that she would work there and be away from us for more than two decades. We rarely communicate, but with the invention of the Internet and advances in communication technologies, which have created apps like Viber, Messenger, etc., our communication has become frequent, bringing family members closer.