Soru

Read the following passage carefully before choosing your answer:

"The clock on the mantelpiece ticked with a slow, heavy rhythm that seemed to stretch each minute into an hour. Clara sat by the window, her fingers tracing the edge of the unread letter in her lap. Outside, the afternoon light was dying, casting long, gray shadows across the floorboards. She remembered last summer, when the fields were bright with sunflowers and her brother had laughed as they ran toward the river, completely unaware of the shadow that would soon fall over their family. They had spent hours by the water, skipping stones and planning a future that seemed entirely within their grasp. That warmth felt a lifetime away now, frozen in a memory that grew more distant with each tick of the clock. Now, the cold paper of the unopened envelope in her hand was the only reality that mattered. A sudden knock at the door broke the heavy silence. Clara stood up quickly, the chair scraping loudly against the floorboards, her heart racing as she took a step toward the hallway, wondering if the news she dreaded had finally arrived."

How does the author’s use of the flashback to the previous summer function in the passage?