Summary

Nora is transported back to the midnight library in “Love and Pain.” She tells Mrs Elm that she wants to put an end to this process. She concludes that it is impossible to live life without getting hurt or hurting people. Mrs Elm warns her that the library only exists if she maintains a will to live. Nora reminds herself of how she felt with the polar bear and manages to recover from her moment of despair. Mrs Elm encourages Nora to keep on living and reminds her of a suppressed memory.

“Equidistance” describes the time Nora tried to kill herself when she was a teenager. There was a party at the beach and Nora was dared to swim to the other side of the river. She nearly let herself drown but ended up swimming to a nearby...