Mulligan

People don't usually know this, but the Earth is governed by two fates. Two all-knowing and mystical beings that are surrounded by a glittering veil of threads. Innumerate dangling pieces of life. The sequences of tangled lines in most points web together, or knot and end. There are glittering golden pieces, and there are gray almost invisible threads. There were even a few that among all the chaotic interwoven streams glow so brightly they light up pieces of the deep dark void.

Now even though these entities could ultimately decide to wipe out life, create it, or even ignore it all together, they were in fact bored. They had lost interest in the delicate and intricate masterpiece they had made together, and were now discussing how to change it. Now changing something of this magnitude took many years, but years in their standards could seem like seconds to a species such as human kind.
In a manner of speaking they had let the dinosaurs roam the spherical canvas for what only took them the time to realize the creatures could not form the curtain of thread they had planned. When they could see that the animals on the planet could only contribute delicate cobwebs disturbed by a hushed thought and blown into darkness, they wiped them out and started a new species. One day, or 5 million, time did not factor. Time really never existed until man decided it so, which was one of the things they loved about us.

It would seem to us, that they had merely flipped a coin to decide, but really it had all come down to a single idea. Free-will. It was the one element that had justified everything.

On this occasion the two had decided that one thread, one singular thread would use it's free will to make anew their creation.
Since his life line ordinary was picked out of the billions of mediocre threads, it was an even easier choice to use him for the free-will experiment being that his name was Joe Shmoe.
They plucked him off from the planet as he was in the middle of stacking product on an assembly line, ready to doze off from the monotony.
Joe immediately decided that he was dreaming, when upon opening his eyes for the second time he was still surrounded by nothingness. The voices he heard must be also, a dream.

Speaking in two infinitesimally different voices, Joe somehow still knew there were two, as much as he knew he breathed on a daily basis. For a moment that thought had made him question if he in fact did breath and he had to stop and check, inhaling and exhaling. He heard the voices say, "Are you sure this one should decide?"
Joe choked out, "decide what?"
"Do you want the Earth to exist with or without man? With or without life?"
Joe shook his head, sure that the weird dream would end soon. "no no no."
"Is that your final answer?"
Joe checked to see if his heart still beat. "Wait, don't take life away!"
The voices stopped. Joe was almost ready to start exploring the darkness, afraid they had left and he was in a coma in some hospital before they spoke again.
"You are right Joe, but it is your choice."
"We can not decide this, or our masterpiece would be lost. "
"We only wish it to... change."
Joe laughed at the idea. "Change?" He tried standing afraid that somehow he would fall and never stop. "What are you guys?"
There was a pause. "Call us Fate."
Joe wanted to laugh, but became scared of the idea that it might be real. "You are the ones screwing with my life! I hate my job, my family could care less, and all I have to show for my life is a stupid collection of packaged star wars toys."
"Decide."
The other one echoed. "Decide."
Joe smiled, if it was a dream or even if it wasn't, he should make good on an old promise. "I want Rebecca Filtmore, you know who she is right?"
"Yes."
"Yes, and?"
"decide."
"Her and me, we'll start your Eden for ya, and give the planet a whole new go, wipe the rest out for all I care."
There was a blinding flash were Joe thought he could see the void ripple. Utter darkness was shifting in minuscule lines like waves. It intensified, a shock wave of color and brilliance, Joe dared not close his eyes, but could not stop them.
When Joe opened them again, He sat alone in an apple orchard. He sighed, 'what a bizarre dream'. Then he looked down and could see he was naked. Behind him in a soft 'Poof', a naked woman appeared. "Rebecca?"
She opened her eyes and disoriented slapped at him wildly. "What the hell! Get away!"
Joe waited for her to calm down and then told her what it was all about. She laughed.
"Well if we are dreaming, which I'm sure YOU are, then that makes you the last man on earth right?"
Joe nodded proudly, no longer hiding his nakedness.
She plucked an apple out of the tree and threw it at him as she walked away. "Guess I better start checking to make sure you really are the last one. It's a big planet, might be awhile."
Joe's jaw stiffened and he threw the apple into the sky. "How is that even fair!!!" He yelled up at his supposed gods.
They answered simply. "Free will."