The gates of Heaven and Hell...

It was the hottest ticket of the party season, and Cynthia was thrilled to have snagged an invite. But why on earth did the Sly Languish PR Agency have to be so quite so… understated on the invitation? For the dress code for their Christmas party had simply read “Dress: Up” which (unless you were a stiltwalker) was clever -yes, certainly clever- but also downright maddeningly unhelpful. 

So she’d played it safe, and opted for the “less is more” approach: her blue satin cocktail dress, with heels she could still walk in, and long sleeves so she wouldn’t freeze at the bus stop later. But across the room she could see Margery Leadbetter had gone for the “more is more” approach. Margery was wafting about in a full-on floral organza ballgown, complete with chiffon drapery and long gloves.

Cynthia hoped Margery didn’t have to travel by bus. Had she played it too safe herself? Oh well. At least the good thing about the downright ambiguous dress code was that made for sartorial variety.

But the bad thing was that same ambiguity clearly permeated the entire office building, for now there was the problem of the rest-room signs to decipher. They too, were also, oh-so-amusingly ambiguous and understated. One door simply bore a circle symbol with a pair of angel wings on, while the other door had a circle with devil’s horns. 

Cynthia stared at the two portals. She’d thought the evening would be absolute heaven, but the realisation occurred to her that this could rapidly turn into the party from hell…