A/N: I'm not actually signed up to the TT25 because I left it too late, and I wasn't brave enough to commit to that many pieces. Good luck to those of you who were! I've decided to write what I can unofficially, to try out a new way of writing with some fresh ideas. I might add flashes and drabbles inspired by other sites later on.

In case you're not familiar with it - the current round of TT25 (The Twilight Twenty-Five) asks entrants to write flashes (300-500 words) inspired by 25 photos. Each flash fiction this time has to be unrelated (ie. these chapters won't form one story, they'll be different settings, characters, genres each time).

Thanks to Bigblueboat for betaing this and giving me some useful feedback!

Thank you for reading! :)

Prompt: # 16

Pairing/Character(s): Bella

Rating: T

Word Count: 498

Photo prompts can be found here:

thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

I trace my fingers over the comfortingly familiar shapes of the continents on the map, letting my mind be transported far away from these four walls.

I'm sticking my hand out of the wound-down car window, enjoying the cool breeze on my fingers. The car is handling Mexico's bumpy dirt roads well, considering it's older than I am.

Finally, we reach a village where there's a market selling exotic fruits and flowers. The locals are speaking animatedly in Spanish, but it's so fast I can only make out a few words. Still, I'm pleased by that — at least the hours I've spent teaching myself count for something.

We load up the tiny car boot with bags of fruit. We're planning to push the car to its limits; perhaps we can make it to the Mayan ruins I've heard so much about.

Apart from my parents, Alice is the only one who's stuck by me with all that's happened, so it's strange that the driver's voice is young and male.

The phone rings. It's the supermarket, confirming today's grocery delivery slot.

I'm going to make fajitas; I can enjoy the tastes of Mexico, even if I can't see it for real. I'm working my way across the world through the well-thumbed pages of my cookbook as well as on the map.

I can visualise places I haven't seen every bit as vividly as those I have. Well, I've had plenty of practice. But the sad reality is that I'll never see them for myself, even though the photos and videos I find online will never serve to satisfy my appetite.

I look at the few lonely pins stuck in Central Europe on the map: family holidays to France and Spain, a trip to Rome with my ex-boyfriend. I wish I'd travelled further once I'd left home. I'd love to visit the Americas, the Norwegian fjords, Japan. But I'm too crippled by fear to actually do it.

I'm not scared of flying — not unless I've developed another phobia over the year I've been stuck inside. I don't know how to explain my agoraphobia without sounding ridiculous. Even the thought of venturing through my own front door makes me break out in a cold sweat.

I wasn't always like this, although it's hard to imagine now. I started getting these feelings during university. After I graduated — scraping through with a pass because of missed lectures — it got worse. I think not being able to find a job knocked my self-esteem. I gave in to my fears and started going out less, until I was a prisoner in my own home.

My desire to travel may seem strange considering I'm unable to go outside, but perhaps it's human nature to crave what you can't have. I don't know how I'm going to get beyond this. I have to. But for now, I'm content to stand in front of this world map and just imagine where I'd go next.