The character reflects on a significant game, recalling it as if it were a recent event, illustrating how deeply it impacted him. In contrast, the narrator feels that those memories are from a distant past, almost as if they belong to someone else. This sense of disconnection showcases the lasting emotional scars that trauma can leave on a person.

The reference to a boy who died with his parents in a house fire underlines the gravity of the narrator's loss and trauma. It emphasizes how such events can alter one's perception of time and memory, making it difficult to reconcile the past with the present. The weight of this history profoundly shapes the narrator's identity and experiences.