The Three Daughters of Christmas

Part One

The eldest daughter was named Thalia. At the age of seventeen, she was the oldest and nearest to being cast out. Her sisters, Aglaea and Euphrosyne were fifteen and fourteen and depended heavily on their sister. Their mother had died along with their brother nearly two years ago, and their once prominent father had fallen into despair. While he was a learned man, he was weak. That weakness, led to the loss of his fortunes, and set his daughters onto a path of destitution, prostitution and and early grave. Women did not fare well in the fourth century at the best of times. Lives were cheap and the lives of females cheaper still.

Even though all three girls were well educated, it meant nothing in a world that perceived those traits as detrimental instead of beneficial. That is why on the eve of Thalia’s eighteenth birthday her father, bolstered by the sour, vinegary wine he had managed to find laid out the ugly, bare truth to her.

“Thalia, my beautiful laughing child. You have always filled my home with joy. However, I feel I should rename you, Melpomene. Your piteous life has turned to tragedy.” Thalia watched her father with world weary eyes. She knew that most girls her age, were married several years over with two if not three or more children. Or worse, dead from the bearing of them.

“Father, I know my fate.” she told him softly. “I have known it for a long time now. As do my sisters. We know that our fortunes are gone, by the hand of that evil devil that lurks in men’s hearts. It is not your fault, father, but the evil powers of Satan that have turned us down this path.”

Her father nearly wept. How had he helped create such humble creatures? Named for a goddess, yet her faith was stronger than the priests in their temples. His own hubris made him bow his head in shame at her goodness. To think that this woman who was more noble than any person he had ever met, was to become a whore to survive.

“Tomorrow, Father, I will go into the village and make enquiries’ for work. Aglaea can sew the finest stitches and Euphrosyne brings laughter and delight to all that meet her. It will be OK Father. No matter what path we must take, do not blame yourself. We understand our fates, and accept them. It does not mean we will not try to avoid them if we can.” She smiled at her father with watery eyes. Trying to hide the fear and desperation she felt bubbling up inside of her.

Her father sighed, relieved that his daughter was so understanding. While he hated the thought of forcing them out to find their own way in this cruel world, he had done his best. Thalia herself had told him so. The man watched his daughter walk away, while he grabbed the pitiful excuse for wine and drank deeply. He did not see her clutching her throat as it closed tight. Nor did he see the violent shaking of her tightly clenched hands. Neither of them saw the shadow outside the window that silently slipped away into the night.