A Morning Like Any Other
Fate never thought her name was particularly ironic. It was just what her parents had decided after a very intense argument about astrology and free will.
She had no idea that her name was not just a coincidence—it was her job.
Every day, Fate went about her routine, utterly oblivious to the chaos she left in her wake. A simple decision—like choosing tea over coffee—could set off a series of events that led to a random stranger in Denmark inventing a revolutionary energy source. Deciding to wear red instead of blue might cause a pigeon in New York to get distracted, leading to a chain reaction that ended with an accountant discovering his true passion for fire-eating.
Fate just thought she was bad at making decisions.
The Butterfly Catastrophe
One Tuesday, Fate stood in front of a bakery display case, unable to choose between a croissant and a muffin.
Her stomach growled.
“Muffin, I guess?” she murmured.
Across the world, a billionaire philanthropist spontaneously decided to retire, setting off a stock market crash. Somewhere in a small village, a man looked up from his journal and finally understood the meaning of life, promptly bursting into tears. A herd of flamingos in South America suddenly migrated north for absolutely no reason.
Fate chewed her muffin, oblivious.
A Coffee With Consequences
Later that day, she stopped by her favorite café. As she reached for a sugar packet, she hesitated.
“Do I want it sweet today?” she wondered aloud.
Her fingers hovered between sugar and sweetener.
A man named Greg in Ohio suddenly vanished from existence.
A woman in Tokyo got an unexpected job promotion.
A chimpanzee in a research lab tapped out the final lines of a brilliant philosophical treatise.
Fate went with sugar.
Greg reappeared.
The chimpanzee got distracted by a banana.
Fate took a sip of her coffee and sighed. “Too sweet. Damn it.”
The Cosmic Complaint Line
One evening, as she brushed her teeth, the bathroom mirror shimmered.
A glowing figure appeared, looking thoroughly exhausted. It was wearing a cosmic robe that kept changing colors and textures, as if reality itself couldn’t decide what it was made of.
“Fate, we need to talk.”
She spat out toothpaste. “Oh great, a hallucination. This day just keeps getting better.”
“No, no, I’m real. And frankly, we’re exhausted.”
“We?”
The figure sighed. “The cosmic order, the great balance, the powers that be—whatever you want to call us. Your choices are ruining everything.“
Fate frowned. “Excuse me? I’m just living my life.”
“That’s the problem! You’re Fate. Your choices directly shape reality, and you’re making decisions like a normal person. Do you have any idea how many timeline paradoxes we’ve had to fix because of you?”
Fate blinked. “So you’re saying… me deciding what to eat for lunch—”
“Caused a war to start in 1752, yes.”
Fate sat down on the toilet lid, stunned. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Tell that to the people who suddenly sprouted wings this morning.”
Decisions With Consequences
Fate crossed her arms. “Okay, let’s say I believe you. What am I supposed to do?”
The cosmic entity hesitated. “Well… we’d prefer if you just stopped making decisions entirely.“
Fate snorted. “Oh sure, I’ll just sit in my apartment and do nothing forever.”
“That… would actually be ideal.”
Fate rolled her eyes. “No way. That sounds boring. Besides, if my choices change things, then maybe I should be making better ones.”
The entity paled (if glowing beings can pale). “You wouldn’t.”
Fate grinned. “Oh, I absolutely would.”
And just like that, she decided to take control of her choices for the first time ever.
Somewhere in the world, a dolphin gained the ability to time travel.
The sky turned green for exactly three seconds.
And in an unknown corner of the multiverse, an omnipotent being sighed, massaged its temples, and prepared for absolute anarchy.
