AN: Hey peoples! This is my entry for Child-Of-God13's challenge! i hope to get it done by July 11th, but who knows? Until further notice, this story is in Bella's point of view. Bella may seem a bit OOC, but she has become that way because of what has happened to her. As for the underlining, it's part of the challenge. Anywhoo, onto the story!

Personification

Chapter One

This whole chaotic mess that I call my life began on September 13, 1987. Well, the chaos and the mess actually didn't settle in until July 11th, several months ago. It was a few months before my seventeenth birthday, and I was happily living in Phoenix with my mother Renee. She had escaped from Forks and my father, Charlie, when I was only a few months old. I still saw Charlie every now and then. I used to visit him in Forks, but after my blowup when I was fourteen, Charlie and I had visited in California for two weeks.

Well, on this fated 11th day in the horrid month of July, I thought it would be fun to go to a carnival. Actually, I didn't think it would be fun, but Mom thought it would be great fun! For her sake, I decided to go.

That was mistake number one.

Mistake number two was made when I decided to let my mother ride the ferris wheel while I went to the gypsy's tavern. As I approached the gypsy's tavern, I saw some strange boys following me. I thought nothing of it. This was a carnival, right? Strange people were all over the place. I had only just knocked on the gypsy's door, when I was grabbed from behind. I tried to scream, but a sweaty hand was held over my mouth.

"Now, now," The guy whose hand was covering my mouth said with a heavy accent. "We can't have you causing any trouble, eh? Not good for me, and when it not good for me it not good for you." The other boys around him simply laughed. I squirmed under the boy's grasp, to no avail. He laughed at my unsuccessful attempts at freedom.

"Like a worm, this one is!" He quickly removed his hand from my mouth and replaced it with his lips. The kiss was hard and fierce, and made me try to escape his grasp even more. The creaking of a door and an old woman's voice suddenly appeared as the boys began to hoot.

"Madame Azira at your-Rodolfo! What are you doing with that girl?!" The guy who was kissing me, Rodolfo, broke the kiss and ran to the gypsy woman screaming.

"Grandmother, oh dear grandmother! It was terrible! I was coming to say hello to you, when this girl attacked me!" The other boys nodded swiftly as the gypsy woman's piercing violet eyes turned to meet my brown eyes.

"is this true, young one?" I couldn't answer, I was frozen in shock.

That was my third and final mistake.

The gypsy woman swore and stomped towards me. She was visibly fuming, spit was flying out of her mouth as she spewed curses on me.

"Wanton wench! Hideous cankerblossom! Kiss my grandson, will you?! You shall kiss no one but the devil!" She reached to her side, grabbing a purple bag with swirling blue tassels. She held it up to me, smiling wickedly with her golden teeth.

"You see this? Wicked girl see this bag? Filled with curses and spells, it is. What shall I have for you?" She pulled out a packet of blue dust. "A talkative mouth perhaps?" She pulled out a decaying apple. "Or maybe the sight for lost souls?" She pulled out a lamb bone. "To hear the cries of animals as they are devoured?" She pulled out a skull next. "Or maybe just the curse to bring sadness wherever you go?"

The other boys had been slowly backing away, and had now taken off running away from the gypsy and I. Rodolfo was the only one who stayed behind. The gypsy came towards me, the blue dust, decaying apple, lamb bone, and skull all in her hands. She was muttering something in a strange language, and I couldn't move. For a second Rodolfo looked frightened for me, actually frightened. His violet eyes stared at me with shocking concern, apart from his grandmother's evil glint. He ran his fingers through his jet black hair before running and tackling his grandmother.

"Grandmother, don't!"

As she fell, the many objects in her hand were thrown at me, as well as various other objects from her bag. I collapsed to the ground, as the gypsy spewed curses at Rodolfo. These curses made my body convulse, and caused my whole body to ache. My ears were filled with high-pitched squeals, and my mouth felt like it was on fire. The gypsy took sudden notice of me, and started shouting at Rodolfo.

"Now see what your actions have caused! Something has gone wrong with my curse! It is your fault if she dies!" With that, the gypsy woman stood up, and walked back into her tavern. Rodolfo cast one quick, worried glance at me before running into the tavern after his grandmother. I tried to stay conscious, but the pain was too great, and I passed out.

I awoke a few minutes later, with a startling migraine. I groaned as I sat up. It was so noisy! Why was everybody talking so loudly? Couldn't they see I was in pain?

"Excuse me." I said, my eyes closed while my fingers rubbed my temples. The voices around me didn't quiet.

"EXCUSE me" I said a little louder as my headache increased. People were so selfish these days! Couldn't they be quiet just until my migraine subsided?

"EXCUSE ME!! You are all being extremely r-" I opened my eyes glancing at my surroundings, trying to find the loud, obnoxious people. the only problem was, I saw no one. I crinkled my eyebrows. There were still voices around me, but there was no one near.

"-rude?" I stood up and started to walk around the grassy area, trying to find someone. I couldn't have been hearing things...could I? I walked towards a large tree. Someone could be hiding behind it! I wrapped one arm around the tree, but as I was glancing behind the tree, someone giggled.

"Who's there?" I called out. No one was behind the tree.

"Stop holding me like that! It tickles!" The voice was girlish and high-pitched. I glanced around the grassy area again, but I saw no one.

"I mean it, show yourself!" The voice giggled again.

"Why do I have to show myself to you if I'm already visible? Ha! Please stop touching me! Ha! I'm so ha! Ticklish!" I whipped my head around trying to find the source of the voice. The voice said that I was touching it, so I followed my arm to... the...tree?

"The tree? Are you kidding me? No one is there!" The voice giggled again.

"Aren't you a ha! Silly one! I'm right ha! Here and you're still ha! Tickling me!" I was tickling...the tree? I was talking to a tree?? I quickly dropped my hands from around the tree.

"But you're a tree! Trees can't talk! I can't talk to trees! Unless I'm crazy..But I'm not crazy! This isn't right, this is, this is...WRONG! Trees can't talk! And you're talking! And you're a tree! And, and..." I babbled for a while until I noticed my hands were shaking. I heard the tree speak again.

"Well I am a tree, and I am talking, and you can hear me! By the way, I'm not just a tree! My name's Treelawny! What's your name? I'm 25! How old are you?"

I'm sure my mouth fell at least several miles as the tree,uh, Treelawny continued to talk. How could this be happening? I was normal up until a few moments ago. What had I done to make me so crazy? I hadn't done anything! I was just coming to see the gypsy-. The gypsy...The curse...The pain...

The gypsy came towards me, the blue dust, decaying apple, lamb bone, and skull all in her hands...

She was muttering something in a strange language...

As she fell, the many objects in her hand were thrown at me, as well as various other objects from her bag...

"Something has gone wrong with my curse!"

"Gone wrong with my curse!"

"Curse!"

Everything made sense now. I collapsed to the ground with knowledge. The grass under me groaned as my weight crushed it. The gypsy had cursed me, but her curse had gone wrong. I was now cursed. But what was I cursed with?

"Sweetheart? Are you all right?"

I looked up half-expecting to see my mother standing over me. Instead, I saw a flower falling from one of the trees. I gave it a sad, half smile.

"Yeah. I think I am."

I went on to learn more about my curse. As I experimented with it, I seemed to be able to talk to anything. I could talk to inanimate objects, like a couch or a pen. I could talk to live things as well, like trees and plants and such. I could talk to animals a little bit, but mainly I was just able to understand what they were saying. With people, it was a completely different. Instead of hearing what they were thinking, I heard what they really meant. For example, this salesperson came up to me once, gave me a skirt and said,

"Hey! Why don't you try this on? It's totally cute!" I heard her say that but I also heard her say, "But on your ugly little body, this skirt would look as cute as a dinosaur." I glanced at the light blue skirt she held in her hand. It was cute, but I wasn't about to let the salesperson know that. I smiled at her with exaggerated sweetness.

"No thank you. I prefer the skirts with dinosaurs on them. Those are the really cute ones." With that, I walked out of the store leaving the salesperson aghast and all the clothes whispering.

Anyways, after the first few weeks I began to get used to my gift. I soon became a vegetarian because I could not stand hearing the screams of animals as I ate them. Not that eating salad was much better, but I couldn't starve myself! For dinner on the night my curse was placed on me, Renee decided to make hamburgers and salad. I silently commended her for sticking to normal foods. But as I lifted the burger to my mouth and took a bite, a scream filled the air.

"NOOOO!! SHE'S EATING MEEEEEEEE!!" I instantly dropped the hamburger. Renee noticed and looked at my strangely.

"What's wrong, Bella? Is the meat undercooked?" I just stared at the hamburger for a few moments, my hands shaking. When I answered, I tried to keep my voice as normal as possible.

"N-nothing, Mom. I-I just think I'm g-gonna become a-a vegetarian." I took a bite out of the salad and tried to hold a steady smile as more ear-piercing screams filled the air. Renee just shrugged and continued to eat.

I started listening to music with my iPod while I was eating. It didn't completely drown out the screams, but it certainly lessened them. I then started listening to my iPod all the time to drown out the constant chatter, screams, groans, and general noises all around me. Music became my sanctuary.

I also now loved hanging out at the library. I could have a long discussion with a book on its story rather than just reading it. My curse seemed like a gift when I was in the library, because I was able to see so much more magic in my favorite stories than I had before. It was really stupendous to see the books come alive and become more human.

I was every English teacher's walking example of personification.