The Midnight Library

Nora wanders aimlessly and miserably around Bedford, passing a sports center where her father had watched her swim, a hospital where her mother had gotten treatment, and a Mexican restaurant where she had eaten with Dan, the man whom she had almost married. She reflects on how she ruined his life by backing out of the wedding at the last minute. He still texts her every now and then, wanting to reconnect, but she’s too afraid of causing him more pain. As it begins to rain, Nora remembers how the laws of thermodynamics state that the universe tends towards chaos and things getting worse. She feels like this certainly applies to her life as well.

Nora takes shelter from the rain inside a newsagent’s shop, where she spots an issue of National Geographic with an image of a black hole on the cover. She can’t help but feel like a collapsing star herself, remembering the old issues of National Geographic purchased by her father. Their images of the arctic (along with the encouragement of Mrs. Elm) had inspired her to pursue a brief interest in becoming a glaciologist, but this had turned out to be just another wasted opportunity.

Nora spots Ravi—a friend of her brother’s and a former member of their now-defunct band, The Labyrinths—looking at music magazines in another corner of the shop. She asks him if he’s seen her brother and he says he has, mentioning that Joe seems depressed. His anger growing, he discusses how both he and Joe barely have any money now that their band is no more. Ravi still blames Nora for backing out of the band, even when they received a lucrative offer from Universal that could have made them famous worldwide.

Nora defends herself, citing her panic attacks and her engagement with Dan as reasons for her to leave the band and have the label continue without her. Ravi snaps back and tells Nora she doesn’t just have stage fright, but “life fright.” The two of them argue about what could have been, then Ravi leaves the shop in a huff. The shop’s receptionist Kerry-Anne—who had watched the whole argument with interest—mentions that she remembers Nora from school. She asks Nora about how her life has gone and talks about her own husband and kids, surprised that Nora wasn’t the one who turned out to be successful after her promising childhood. Nora says she returned to Bedford because her mother was ill. She quickly leaves the shop when Kerry-Anne asks whether Nora’s mother is feeling better now.