Hi Erfan,
I wanted to leave my MEFA review for your gorgeous story here. This story was one of my favorite discoveries during the awards.

The premise of this story is deceptively simple. Faramir, a man in denial of his own nature, is captured by a Southron and in the course of their journey, they become attracted to one another. However a premise we’ve seen before of two enemies drawn to each other, in Erfan’s expert hands, is written afresh in gorgeous, clean, sensuous language. Although there are exciting scenes of battle at the beginning, most of this story feels quiet, perfectly paced, as we inhabit Faramir’s head and find him disquietingly attracted to the Southron leader, Hajiri. The physical journey as Faramir is taken further and further from the land of his fathers is told lyrical detail [The change, when it came, was gradual as the grasses grew shorter and the earth turned sandy. Narrow-leaved thornbrush and other spiky vegetation made their first appearances followed by fat, fleshy growths of brilliant green. The heat increased and the soil petered out until it was only sand that sank underfoot: the great desert was nearly upon them.] The interior journey is equally well drawn as Faramir fights with his attraction for the compelling Hajiri (a wonderfully drawn character ) as well as his notions of what he “should” be doing or feeling. [In night’s large dark, the idea came that perhaps the true betrayal he committed was to his own nature, in his long denial of it.] In time, Hajiri leads Faramir to self-acceptance as surely as he leads him through the changing landscape to exotic lands. The theme of the landscape is echoed in Erfan’s description of Hajiri’s face that Faramir comes to appreciate. [Hajiri’s face had its own landscape of lines scored beside his nose and around his eyes, and on his forehead between his brows. When he laughed with his men they took on their full depth.]

The final scene of seduction [tonight lay between worlds] as Faramir explores his own boundaries, is deeply erotic, a feast for the senses. We hear the sounds of the dripping water, smell the flowers and Hajiri’s musk. It seems almost dreamlike. Freed by his captor, Faramir returns to the hard reality of his former life — forever changed. The opening prologue with Sappho’s exquisite poem echos the story. This is a lovely story well worth savoring again.

Gorgeous story, Erfan!

Beautifully written! Excellent job of getting inside Faramir’s head.

Elegantly done. I enjoyed this story very much.