Wish Granted, I Guess

"So I get three wishes, right?" said Stella, listening for the genie's confirmation. When there was nothing, she sighed. "I'm blind, I can't see you nod."

"Yes, you get three wishes," said the genie. "But I must warn you, each wish you make comes at a cost, so be careful."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," said Stella. "Be careful what you wish for and all that. I wish I could see like normal people!"

The next second, Stella blinked, and the genie came into focus. He was mouthing something.

"What?" she said, but she didn't hear her voice say the words.

The genie looked at her grimly and pointed to his own ears, then to his eyes, the back to his ears. Stella understood. She had sacrificed her hearing in order to see.

She smiled. That was easily remedied. She made her mouth form the next wish, though she knew she could not hear them: "I wish I had the same use of my eyes and ears that everyone else does," and she paused before adding, "along with my sense of smell, taste, and touch."

The genie nodded, and there was a sensation like cotton balls being taken from inside her ears. She snapped her fingers, just to test it. She lifted her wrist to her nose and smelled a remnant of the perfume she had spritzed herself with. She licked her fingers, which tasted greasy from the french fries she had eaten earlier.

"You think yourself clever, do you?" said the genie in a mocking tone, though he wasn't smiling. "Thought of everything, did you?"

Stella looked at him, drinking in the sight of him. "I don't even care," she said. "What good is life if I can't experience everything life has to offer?" She waved her hands in front of her eyes. "I saw myself do that! Do you understand how amazing that is?"

The genie nodded. "I do indeed," he said. "Try standing up."

Stella frowned. She hadn't remembered sitting down, but there she was, sitting on the floor, her legs splayed out in front of her. "Okay," she said, slowly, and she moved to stand.

Before she could get her feet completely under her, she toppled onto the floor again. She tried several times to stand up, all with the same result. She looked up at the genie in disbelief. "So balance really does count as a sense?"

At the genie's nod, Stella let out a frustrated grunt. "Fine," she said. "Fine. I wish that I keep the main five senses, plus my sense of balance, and direction, and..." She cast about her thoughts, trying to think of any she had missed. "And common! Can't do anything without common sense either."

The genie took a deep breath. "Your wish is my command."

Stella stood up slowly, using the wall to brace herself in case it hadn't worked. She let go of it, and found herself able to stand on her own. She looked at the genie.

"Thank you," she said. "What will you do now after granting my three wishes?"

The genie shrugged. "Do you want to hear a joke?" he asked.

Stella shook her head, unsmiling. "No," she heard herself say. "I don't like jokes."

The genie laughed. "I thought not," said the genie, and he turned away from her. "But that was a pretty good one."

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I'm a bit surprised nobody answered with humor or fun, though it made for the perfect ending. Thanks to Laura, Thomas, Jennifer, Aaron, Heather, Brian, James, Alex, Gary, and Kelsey for their submissions.

This week I'm not going to put the prompt on Facebook. Please respond to this query in the comments below: Who is your favorite superhero?