The Tree That Is Our Life

Nora attends a conference where she is supposed to give a keynote speech.
She is nervous and feels like she is having a panic attack.
Nora tries to calm herself by thinking about music and remembering a happy song.
Before she goes on stage, a woman makes a cryptic comment about "the stuff in Portugal," but Nora doesn't understand what she means.
Nora makes her way to the stage and delivers her speech, which turns out to be somewhat unconventional.
She starts by introducing herself, even though everyone in the room already knows her, and compares life to a tree with many branches representing different paths.
She speaks about other lives we don't live, noting that doing one thing differently can make our entire lives different.
Nora contradicts the standard definition of success, asserting that it is not a tangible achievement or life goal (like winning the Olympics or marrying the ideal spouse) but something internal and intangible.
She admits to suffering from stage fright, or more accurately "life fright," and claims that life is inherently terrifying. She maintains that regardless of the branch we're living, we're all just the "same rotten tree."
Nora concludes her speech by showing a scar on her hand, admitting it was self-inflicted, and urging everyone to just be kind.
She expresses her love for her brother and everyone in the room before abruptly disappearing.

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