Because we cannot move backwards into the past, every move we take has to be forwards, from A to B. In effect, we move along countless lines or paths, all of different lengths and all beginning at a point we can call A and ending, somewhere in the near or distant future, at B. We navigate many such lines at the one and same time: some of them we have chosen, but, in the majority of cases, we are usually not given a choice. The one thing we can be sure of is that, once we have stepped on to A, B is just that much closer, because, as I noted in the beginning of this post, we cannot move backwards into the past. Perhaps Nina intuitively knew that, although the path was not of her own choosing, she could still only move forwards in the direction of the path and that, eventually, the path would end and would be replaced by other paths. All the while terrified by what the path signified, she nevertheless managed to retain her optimism and her belief in happy endings. As we move from A to B, this is really all we have - an optimistic outlook and the belief that B will, somehow, physically, intellectually and/or emotionally, prove to be a more rewarding and satisfying place than A.