Good story. I think fate and freewill are both important. What someone thinks is fate may not be. Fate is something that doesn't just happens, it happens in certain circumstances. Just example, I was once trying to travel somewhere and had multiple unexpected delays, so was convinced I wouldn't be able to travel. I also didn't really mind if I didn't, as would've been happy to stay where I was. But despite these obstacles I still managed to make the travel, so I guess something like that could be similar to fate. That no matter what you do, something still works out.