Casimir took a deep breath and lowered his eyes. "It's not an act, Hutch," he sighed. "Kids like him deserve the same opportunities as anyone else. Whatever you may think of me, doesn't negate the life I've lived here." Smirking, he turned his gaze back onto Hutch. "When Celina told me you looked young, I had a difficult time imagining it."
"Yeah, I'm a teenager again. It's freaking amazing," he sneered. "Are you happy to see it for yourself?"
Casimir shook his head, his smirk fading. "None of this makes me happy."
"Then why are you here?"
"To repay a debt," he replied. "And hopefully in the process, get us both what we want."
"A debt?" Hutch questioned, watching as Casimir rubbed at the palm of his right hand. "I don't understand."
"It's okay. I didn't expect you to," Casimir replied, showing Hutch his palm, which was covered in small, misshapen scars. "Twenty-seven years, and sometimes it feels as if it happened yesterday. As if the shards are still stuck beneath my skin. It reminds me of that day. Helps to keep the memory of that moment fresh. It insured that I never forgot you, the lengths you pushed me to, what you took from me, and ultimately, what you gave back. Intentionally or not, Hutch, you gave me what I had been chasing the entire time; a second chance with Celina. A chance to live the life I truly wanted with her. I had hoped, when I found myself back on this world, that all I would ever find of you was a missing person's report. I didn't know when or where you would turn up, so I made the largest beacon I could to draw you to me, while being careful not to disrupt the possibility that you would exist. I never wanted this for you, and I will do whatever I can to get you back to Kahlala."
"And I don't believe you," Hutch stated, as he clenched his hands into fists. "Our hatred was mutual, and I had nothing to do with your decisions at the end. You broke that amulet on your own, hoping to die, because you didn't want to be held accountable for your crimes. And big surprise, you managed to get at least that. You have no reason to help me, and yet the moment I mentioned that amulet, you wanted to meet. Why?"
"You always where so certain of yourself," Casimir remarked with a reminiscent gaze. "Yet, just like back then, there is more going on than you know."
"Like what?"
Turning to Hutch, he grinned, a peculiar sort of sadness hanging in the corners of his eyes. "There's a clue right in front of you and you still can't see it."
"See what?"
"Hutch, I'm fifty-one."
"What's your point? You've always looked young for your age."
"But not like this. I returned to Earth in 1978. I was twenty-four at the time. So, unless you intend to look sixteen for the next half a century, you may want to reconsider your position on a few things."
Hutch groaned with frustration as he stared at the polished black shoes Casimir was wearing. He hated that Casimir had been right. He'd noticed his appearance the moment he opened the door, but he handwaved it away as nothing important because he was too busy trying to prove his nefarious intentions.
"Fine! And I'm seventeen. And take those off," he shouted as he pointed down at Casimir's shoes. "This place may be a dump to you but that doesn't mean you get to treat it like one." Unclenching his fists, he marched into the kitchen. "Take a seat on the couch. I'm willing to hear you out. You want something to drink? Coffee? Water? Soda?"
"Water's fine," Casimir replied.
Hutch watched him, from the corner of his eye as he retrieved two glasses from the cupboard and the water jug from the fridge.
"This still beats damp grass in the morning and unexpected rainstorms in the middle of the night," Casimir remarked, glancing out the back patio door, admiring the view of the forest.
"Or the random stone that made you want to move, knowing there was nowhere left to move to," he responded as he filled the glasses.
"Except away from the fire," he responded, moving over to the couch, and taking a seat as Hutch put the jug back in the fridge.
"Looking back on it, I'm honestly shocked at how we managed to make it through. I was out there for a few minutes and ended up in the hospital with hypothermia," he said, placing the glasses down onto the coffee table before sitting on the opposite end of the couch.
"I think we were far more prepared for the circumstances. I was returned inside of a building, which was good, since I wasn't wearing anything."
"Were their witnesses?"
"Thankfully, it was after hours, and there were no security cameras back then. You showed up here?"
"Right out there, in the cold. Neighbor called emergency, saving my life. For the first few weeks I wondered if it was even worth it. This is shit, but with toilet paper. I'm a scrawny useless kid, trying to figure out how I'm going to get through high school in a couple of weeks," Hutch complained, tears swelling into his eyes. "I get to grow up all over again. Only it's so much worse this time around. How does it not bring a smile to your face to see me suffering?"
"Because, for the record, our hatred was not mutual."
"Bullshit."
"You… how can you still be this frustrating?" he scoffed. "I never hated you. Never. Where did you even get that idea from?"
"You were going to have me executed."
"You sucker punched a senior officer in front of witnesses during a war meeting. You broke the law, knowing the consequences. You put me in an impossible position. But I also arranged for your escape. How convenient for you to have forgotten that little detail."
"I didn't forget. I even ran like Xig told me too. I left my tribe behind and started a new life with Kahlala and Ghan'dono in the western foothills of Cheph. If you hadn't sent Levim to the Moahaba… why? Why did you do that?"
"I didn't," Casimir replied, lowering his head, and wiping at his eyes as Hutch scoffed in disbelief. Picking up the glass, he took a sip of water to wet his throat. "There's no point in me denying anything, Hutch. Believe this or don't, it makes no difference now. But what happened to the Moahaba broke my heart as much as it did yours, and those responsible were held accountable for what they did; in time."
"You were the king."
"You're right. I was the king, and you were a wanted criminal. Stop pretending like you were innocent. Yes, the punishment was ridiculously harsh, but we were at war," he stated, setting the glass rather harshly back onto the table. Taking a deep breath he continued, "By the time I learned of what had happened it was already too late. I had both Levim and Jaawern silently executed for orchestrating the entire thing."
Hutch shook his head. "Why are you lying to me about this now? I saw your signature on the apprehension order. It gave Levim authority to do whatever he wanted to find me. Are you going to tell me it was faked?"
"No," Casimir replied, "it was a real order, but it wasn't my signature. It was my decoy's. Jaawern despised his position. He thought his place was at my side, and that it never should have been yours. When Levim returned to Qor'ropi ahead of me, he carried with him the reports from the front, including the one on you. I had told Levim that you weren't a priority and that I would handle the situation myself when I returned, after I was finished drafting up the plans to rebuild the Euqwenah village."
"Did he know who you were?"
He nodded. "All of my generals knew. They had to know in order to do their jobs. He failed, out of malice I assume, to remember what I had said. And when Jaawern saw your name on the report, he took the opportunity to see to your end. They concocted the apprehension order, told my decoy that it was me you had assaulted, and he signed it, without hesitation, granting all the authority Levim ever wanted. He truly thought that it didn't matter how he went about finding you because at the end of the day, you were guilty of your crimes, as well as escaping. But he crossed a line, and he never should have done what he did to the Moahaba. My decision to make that man a general in my army has haunted me for so many years."
Hutch was stunned, a single tear rolled down his cheek as he stared across the room at the blank TV.
"It wasn't you?" he eventually managed to whisper.
"No, Hutch. On my life, I swear it wasn't me."
Hutch couldn't find the strength to speak. For years he had blamed Casimir for what had happened to his tribe. He had never questioned it. He had seen the apprehension order for himself. He recognized the signature and knew the king's stamp. It had never crossed his mind that it had come from his decoy.