Nora watches her younger self struggle in a cold, fast river, arms aching as the bank never seems closer. The scene overlays with bookshelves, and Nora notices her younger brother Joe and his friends on the far side, unable to see present-day Nora. The memory anchors in the sensory details of exhaustion and fear.

In that delirium, Nora fixates on the word “equidistant,” a clinical term looping in her mind as she remains stuck between banks. The image becomes a metaphor for Nora’s life: caught between options, afraid to commit, exhausting herself without progress.

Mrs Elm, hearing Nora’s thoughts, interrupts the spiral to reframe the memory: Nora did make a choice and survived. This assertion challenges Nora’s self-story of permanent stasis, implying that in moments of crisis she can act, and nudges her toward embracing agency rather than remaining suspended between paths.