The X handshape is pointing towards the back of the signer as it is moved back and forth by the chin. In American Sign Language, the body represents the present tense, the space to the back of the body is used to indicate that something happened in the past, and the space to the front of the body is used to indicate the future. In the sign RECENT, the hand is moving just slightly towards the back of body to indicate that something happened just a little while ago (recently).