What If... We Start Over?

Prologue

Alan and Carmen were the kind of couple that everyone envied. They had been together since their final year of high school, and by the time they were in college, their relationship had blossomed into
something special.

Friends would often comment on how perfectly matched they seemed, and even
strangers would stop to admire the way they looked at each other. Alan and Carmen were inseparable,
and it seemed like nothing could come between them.

The first time they met was during a high school charity event. Alan was volunteering with his track
team, while Carmen was there with her friends, collecting donations for a local animal shelter. Alan had always been focused on his running, but something about Carmen caught his eye that day.

She had a radiant smile and a laugh that seemed to light up the room. When their eyes met, it was as if the world around them faded away.

From that moment on, Alan knew he wanted to get to know her better. They started talking, and it didn't
take long for them to realize how much they had in common. They shared a love for adventure, both
enjoyed trying new things, and they could spend hours just talking about their dreams and aspirations.

Their connection was instant, and before long, they were spending nearly every day together.

In the early days of their relationship, everything felt like a dream. They would go on long walks in the
park, hand in hand, talking about their future. They shared countless moments of laughter, and even the
simplest things, like grabbing a coffee or watching a movie, felt special when they were together. Alan
loved how Carmen could make even the most mundane activities feel exciting, and Carmen adored how Alan always made her feel cherished.

Their friends often joked that they were the "golden couple" of the group. Aileen and Marcy, Carmen's
best friends, would tease them about how perfect they were for each other, and even Alan's friends,
Zenith and Terese, would often comment on how lucky he was to have found someone like Carmen. It
seemed like everyone around them knew that they were meant to be together.

But as time passed, things began to change. The initial excitement of their relationship started to fade, and the challenges of life began to take their toll. Carmen's once bubbly personality became more
subdued, and Alan noticed that she was becoming increasingly distant. They would still go out on dates, but the conversations that once flowed so easily now felt forced. Alan found himself wondering what had gone wrong, but whenever he tried to talk to Carmen about it, she would brush him off, insisting that everything was fine.

Alan didn't want to believe that anything was wrong. He told himself that it was just a rough patch, that
they would get through it like they always had. But deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that
something was different. The girl he had fallen in love with seemed to be slipping away, and no matter
how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to reach her.

Then came the day that changed everything. Alan had been training for an upcoming track-and-field
tournament, one of the most important events of his college career. He had been working harder than
ever, pushing himself to his limits in preparation for the competition. But while he was focused on his
training, Carmen seemed to be pulling away even more.

Alan noticed that Carmen was spending more time with her friends, particularly Aileen and Marcy. At
first, he didn't think much of it-after all, they had always been close. But then he started hearing
rumors, whispers that Carmen had been seen with someone else, a guy who wasn't him. Alan tried to
ignore the rumors, telling himself that they were just that-rumors. But the more he thought about it,
the more the doubts began to creep in.

One evening, after a particularly grueling training session, Alan decided to confront Carmen. They were sitting on the porch of his house, the sun setting in the distance. The atmosphere was tense, and Alan could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he searched for the right words.

"Carmen," he began, his voice shaky,

"is there something you're not telling me?"

Carmen looked at him, her expression unreadable.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her tone defensive.

"I don't know," Alan said, struggling to find the right words.

"I just... I feel like we're not as close as we
used to be. Like there's something between us that wasn't there before."

Carmen sighed, turning her gaze away from him.

"Alan, we've been together for a long time. People
change, relationships change. It's normal."

Alan felt a pang of sadness at her words.

"I know things change, but... I don't want to lose what we have."

Carmen didn't respond right away. Instead, she sat in silence, her eyes fixed on the horizon. When she
finally spoke, her voice was soft, almost resigned.

"Maybe what we had isn't enough anymore."

The words hit Alan like a punch to the gut. He had known something was wrong, but hearing Carmen say it out loud made it all too real.

He wanted to argue, to tell her that they could fix things, that they could get back to the way they used to be.

But deep down, he knew that it wasn't that simple.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the yard, Alan realized that their
relationship was at a crossroads. He loved Carmen more than anything, but he could feel her slipping
away, and he didn't know how to stop it.