Fiction: Trapped for centuries, Iblis the genie offers Lucy three wishes in exchange for his freedom

It is said that when Lucy’s great-grandfather Cheriyan took his life at the age of forty-five, the only thing left behind was massive debt.

Zacharia was fifteen years old then – a scrawny chap with an unpleasant smile. His older brothers, overwhelmed by newfound responsibilities, escaped to Bombay, abandoning their mother and younger sister to fend off local predators. When the thugs arrived, claiming they had lent money to Cheriyan and taunting that Zacharia’s mother and sister could repay the debt with their bodies, the teenager dropped off school early to find employment.

His first job was assisting a local fish merchant in Chambakkara Market. He unloaded the fish from the boats and displayed them in the open stand, bellowing with gusto: “Meene venno, Meen. Fresh fish. Best fish. Ayilla Matti, Chura. Meene venno Meene.” When someone made a purchase, he expertly gutted the fish, removed its entrails and chopped it into curry-sized portions, ultimately wrapping them in banyan leaves.

During those years, he woke up before dawn and returned home only after midnight, labouring until he collapsed without ever complaining. Within a few years, on his eighteenth birthday, the boy who had once been deemed useless opened a seafood wholesale shop with the…

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