The Webster Sisters
"those poor little girls"
"She loved her daughters so much, I never thought something like this could ever happen."
"No mother would do such a thing to her own children. That woman was a monster."
"It's not right that a parent should outlive their own child."
"He looked so lost at their funeral. No one should have to bury their child."
"She took everything from me."
-
The Webster sisters were named after the Greek Goddesses in an attempt to preserve their lives and ease their mother's mind. Aphrodite was born the sixteenth of September, nineteen eighty seven. Artemis followed a year after, being born on the second of October, nineteen eighty eight. Athena was the only sister born in the nineties – three years and fourteen days after Aphrodite, making her birthday the thirtieth of September. Each girl was born in the season of autumn; the same season their deaths fell upon, too.
Their mother constantly feared for their safety, paranoid that someone would come and take them from her if she let them out of her sight. It was that intense feeling that led to her homeschooling her daughters, keeping them confined to the house so that nothing from the outside could harm them. It was also that paranoia which plagued her throughout the night, subjecting her to the nightmare of losing her children to whatever lie outside the walls of her house. On the night of Aphrodite's thirteenth birthday, she snapped.
As the minutes passed slowly towards midnight, their mother awoke from her troubled sleep. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was dry and her mind was torn. It was then that she climbed out from her bed, her fingers clenching her pillow as she left her husband in the room. Athena's room was the first she visited, and as her youngest daughter slept, she held the pillow over her face and suffocated her swiftly. No noise came from the girl, and when the pillow was removed, she was lifeless.
Artemis was next, except the girl woke up when the pillow touched her face. Her mother held it steady, trapping the girl's arms as she tried to fight her off. Unlike her sister, Artemis didn't die swiftly; she held on as long as she could, trying to free her arms to save her life. Ultimately, the fight was futile. Her arms thudded down onto the quilt, the force of the drop making her left arm roll off the bed and hang over the side. Her eyes remained open, the stare penetrating the darkness and piercing her mother's thoughts, almost like a needle pricking at skin.
She remained in the room for a moment, gazing down at her daughter's face. She didn't quite take in the sight – the God awful sight of her eyes wide and unseeing – but she took in the way she was lying, the way she looked disturbed in her sleep, and the way her body could fool anyone at first look that she were still alive. For a second her lip seemed to tremble, almost as if she were realising what had happened just a few minutes ago, but no realisation engulfed her and with one last fleeting look at her daughter's body, she left the room almost as if she had never been in it.
The floor moaned as she stepped outside Aphrodite's door. The thirteen year old turned over in bed undisturbed. She paused, hand on the handle, as she murmured the same words she said outside each door: "The Gods will protect them."
She spent more time in the last room as her daughter was lying on her stomach and she didn't want to wake her. The Gods wouldn't protect her if she'd given her to them while she was in pain – she already knew that Artemis would be judged as to whether she was in pain or not during the deliverance. She hoped that she would be judged to have not been in pain when she was given to them, mostly for her daughter's own sake but also because she had felt that tonight was the night she had to give them over, and there was no way she would have been able to go against what she perceived to be the Gods' decision.
The time was coming to a close – she could see the numbers were near to midnight – and Aphrodite finally turned over onto her back. From where she was standing beside the bed, her mother knelt on the edge of the mattress and held the pillow over her face after gazing at her daughter's face for a few seconds. It was those seconds that allowed her to hold the pillow down without any struggle, and it was in those moments that she felt the first ounce of doubt over her actions. The doubt was a small seed in her mind, contained nicely within a box and unable to grow further in her thoughts. After all, how could she begin to doubt her actions when all three daughters had now been given to the Gods for protection?
When she removed the pillow, Aphrodite's eyes were closed and she was lying like she was in a deep slumber. There was a short, faint breath before she became lifeless, the removal of the pillow being a moment too late. It was when that breath passed that her mother left the room and headed down the stairs. Now all she needed to do was pray to the Gods in the garden and her daughters would be safely away from the dangers of the world.
It was while she was in the garden that their father woke up. The other side of the bed was empty, his wife nowhere to be seen and a chilling feeling hung in the air. It was a combination of the three that led to him getting out of the bed and going to check on his daughters. Athena was the first he checked on, and when he saw that everything was fine, he went to check on Artemis.
That was the first time in his life that he had ever screamed with such terror.
"No mother would do such a thing to her own children. That woman was a monster."
"It's not right that a parent should outlive their own child."
"He looked so lost at their funeral. No one should have to bury their child."
"She took everything from me."
-
The Webster sisters were named after the Greek Goddesses in an attempt to preserve their lives and ease their mother's mind. Aphrodite was born the sixteenth of September, nineteen eighty seven. Artemis followed a year after, being born on the second of October, nineteen eighty eight. Athena was the only sister born in the nineties – three years and fourteen days after Aphrodite, making her birthday the thirtieth of September. Each girl was born in the season of autumn; the same season their deaths fell upon, too.
Their mother constantly feared for their safety, paranoid that someone would come and take them from her if she let them out of her sight. It was that intense feeling that led to her homeschooling her daughters, keeping them confined to the house so that nothing from the outside could harm them. It was also that paranoia which plagued her throughout the night, subjecting her to the nightmare of losing her children to whatever lie outside the walls of her house. On the night of Aphrodite's thirteenth birthday, she snapped.
As the minutes passed slowly towards midnight, their mother awoke from her troubled sleep. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was dry and her mind was torn. It was then that she climbed out from her bed, her fingers clenching her pillow as she left her husband in the room. Athena's room was the first she visited, and as her youngest daughter slept, she held the pillow over her face and suffocated her swiftly. No noise came from the girl, and when the pillow was removed, she was lifeless.
Artemis was next, except the girl woke up when the pillow touched her face. Her mother held it steady, trapping the girl's arms as she tried to fight her off. Unlike her sister, Artemis didn't die swiftly; she held on as long as she could, trying to free her arms to save her life. Ultimately, the fight was futile. Her arms thudded down onto the quilt, the force of the drop making her left arm roll off the bed and hang over the side. Her eyes remained open, the stare penetrating the darkness and piercing her mother's thoughts, almost like a needle pricking at skin.
She remained in the room for a moment, gazing down at her daughter's face. She didn't quite take in the sight – the God awful sight of her eyes wide and unseeing – but she took in the way she was lying, the way she looked disturbed in her sleep, and the way her body could fool anyone at first look that she were still alive. For a second her lip seemed to tremble, almost as if she were realising what had happened just a few minutes ago, but no realisation engulfed her and with one last fleeting look at her daughter's body, she left the room almost as if she had never been in it.
The floor moaned as she stepped outside Aphrodite's door. The thirteen year old turned over in bed undisturbed. She paused, hand on the handle, as she murmured the same words she said outside each door: "The Gods will protect them."
She spent more time in the last room as her daughter was lying on her stomach and she didn't want to wake her. The Gods wouldn't protect her if she'd given her to them while she was in pain – she already knew that Artemis would be judged as to whether she was in pain or not during the deliverance. She hoped that she would be judged to have not been in pain when she was given to them, mostly for her daughter's own sake but also because she had felt that tonight was the night she had to give them over, and there was no way she would have been able to go against what she perceived to be the Gods' decision.
The time was coming to a close – she could see the numbers were near to midnight – and Aphrodite finally turned over onto her back. From where she was standing beside the bed, her mother knelt on the edge of the mattress and held the pillow over her face after gazing at her daughter's face for a few seconds. It was those seconds that allowed her to hold the pillow down without any struggle, and it was in those moments that she felt the first ounce of doubt over her actions. The doubt was a small seed in her mind, contained nicely within a box and unable to grow further in her thoughts. After all, how could she begin to doubt her actions when all three daughters had now been given to the Gods for protection?
When she removed the pillow, Aphrodite's eyes were closed and she was lying like she was in a deep slumber. There was a short, faint breath before she became lifeless, the removal of the pillow being a moment too late. It was when that breath passed that her mother left the room and headed down the stairs. Now all she needed to do was pray to the Gods in the garden and her daughters would be safely away from the dangers of the world.
It was while she was in the garden that their father woke up. The other side of the bed was empty, his wife nowhere to be seen and a chilling feeling hung in the air. It was a combination of the three that led to him getting out of the bed and going to check on his daughters. Athena was the first he checked on, and when he saw that everything was fine, he went to check on Artemis.
That was the first time in his life that he had ever screamed with such terror.