Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

youth, in an age w hen class and pow er w er e seen as natur al pr ivileges,
pr e-or dained by accidents of for tune at bir th. They w er e for tunes that did not
always per sist at the tables. At the Black Casino, w hole dynasties had been know n
to r ise and on occasions, quite liter ally, to fall.
Ar ound tw o sides to the exter ior of the casino, w er e balconies that affor ded a
view w hich, (moonlight and clouds per mitting), allow ed a scenic and br eathtaking
view acr oss the fr onds of the for est canopy on the slopes and valleys below the
mountain. The balconies allow ed a degr ee of socialisation, w her e patr ons might
talk, str ike business deals and seduce one another among the heady scent of cigar s
and br andy. Expectation was always hidden among the br eathtaking view s, r ipe
and expectant in the moist war mth of the mountain air.
Some guests used the balconies for other pur poses, as an oppor tunity to take a
br eath of another sor t, to step back fr om adr enaline-r ushed decisions that might
benefit fr om mor e temper ate thought. A man may consider w hether to r etur n to
the tables and attempt to r egain a lost family for tune or to r isk losing mor e in a
pr obably futile attempt at r egaining one.
Some consider ed quietly the imminence of a fr esh life to come, w ith new w on
for tunes, estates and titles. Mor e than a few consider ed the pr ospect of shame and
penur y and could envisage declaiming the new s to distr aught w ives or enr aged
father s. For some of these, the walk to the balcony became the last that they w er e to
take, as the fall of their for tunes became r eflected in a long, silent fall to the for est
below.
The balcony to the r ight became the favour ed spot for such suicides. It had a
shar per , mor e for bidding descent mor e suited to the pur pose. It did not take long
for it to become know n as ?the loser s?balcony?or mor e r obustly as ?the suicide
balcony?. Its counter par t to the left, the ?w inner s?balcony?by tur n became know n
as ?the celebr ation balcony?.
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