In Tafraout, a small moroccan village where everyone knew each other, the myths about "baghlat lakbour", as in "the cemetry mule" had been floating around for as long as the villagers could remember. As for Aisha Kendisha, the descriptions varied. According to some natives, she’s nothing but a mule who drags heavy chains behind her. Others believe her to be half-human and half-animal, like the centaurs in Greek mythology. But what they could all agree upon is that she is a petrifying beast.
One sunday night when the moon was out, in all its bright and majestic glory, a group of three college friends had agreed upon trying to reach the cemetery mule using a ouija board in a small deserted tree house near the cemetery. All of them sat around a wooden table, ready to summon the spirit. They collectively put their hands on the upside-down cup and asked Mohammed, the oldest of the band, to be the medium and ask the cemetery mule questions.
He started by saying "Baghlat lakbour, baghlat lakbour, baghlat lakbour. Manifest your presence please". When they felt no movement of the cup after numerous attempts, they all stood up from their seats, ready to leave the tree house. However, once Omar, the youngest of the group, had tried to reach for the door they heard a noise so loud it was almost deafening. The ouija board had just completely flown off the table and crashed against the wall, with the cup basically levitating on it. They all looked at each other in a panicked motion and tried to reach for the pocket lamps they had brought with them, but those had other plans too. In fact none of the lamps flashed when Mohammed, Ali and Omar tried to light them up.
"Oh no! We are screwed over'' had said Ali as his hands started to shake from panic. Cold drops of sweat coated Omar's face, who had started to wheeze hysterically due to the sheer terror he felt at the moment. Mohammed had tried to keep calm and reassure his friends, but when another blaring noise occurred, he completely lost it too. Ali had read in a spirituality internet page that once something goes wrong in a ouija session, it is better to listen to the spirit rather than trying to escape. He immediately reached to the board that was hanging off the wall, defying the laws of gravity.
After having quite a hard time deciphering what the board was saying. The group had finally reached a conclusion; the lady of the tombs wanted to meet them at the cemetery, in front of "Adir"'s grave. They looked at each other in horror as they realised what was going on. Adir was the mule's husband in the Moroccan mythology books. The one she didn't grief, which had later become the reason she transformed into the terrifying creature she was.
A few minutes of sobbing and quran-reciting later, the young men were in front of said Adir's grave, as there was only one after that name. They waited for a few minutes but nothing out of the ordinary happened. At least not until a beautiful woman appeared out of the shadows. Long, silky-smooth brown hair and a face so gorgeous they could've sworn she wasn't real if she wasn't standing right before their eyes. She looked like a woman straight out of one's most beautiful dreams, or nightmares.
"What are you boys doing in front of my dad's grave?" The angel-looking woman asked with a voice so smooth it sent shivers down the guys' bodys. With a wide smile that showed her perfectly lined teeth, she repeated herself again, with a harshness to her voice that wasn't there the first time she had talked. Mohammed managed to stutter a response while his friends were completely shock-stricken. "W-w-we're here to see the lady of the tombs. She told us to meet her at Adir's grave."
The woman's expression shifted slightly as her mouth formed a small 'o' shape that was barely noticeable, before she regained her composure and said: "I seriously hope that you aren't lying, my mother loathes lyers". "Y-your mother?" asked Omar, in utter disbelief of the revelation. "Aicha, let them in. They're telling the truth" another woman said. Suddenly, a bright white gate appeared out of the blue. Aicha muttered a quiet "yes mom" as she ordered the boys to follow suit and enter the portal.
At this point, the guys were in complete shock, and their horror had transformed into a prickling anxiety. They knew better than to disobey though. Their dismay had only grown bigger when they stared around them, a long dark path that felt so sinister it made their hearts clench. Few minutes of waking later, they had reached the main attraction of the night, the lady of the tombs.
The sight in front of the trio was nothing their minds would've ever imagined. The creature's feet were two mule hoofs. Her waist was a human's and had a tight black corset around it. Her arms and collarbones were bare as hairy as her hoofs. The mule's face was covered with a white vail that she immediately took off, revealing what looked to the boys like the most drop-dead gorgeous woman they had ever laid eyes on. She had beautiful hazel eyes, a small pointy noze, full and pouty lips along with a chiseled jaw that made her face look oh so splendid. The guys couldn't believe the sight in front of them, they were really in front of the cemetery mule.
The creature finally broke the uncomfortable silence by saying: "I will only need one of you boys now. Aicha will escort the other two. Make a choice. And you better make it quick! I am not a patient person". After a short discussion, the trio had agreed that Mohammed should stay, he had dragged Omar and Ali into this mess after all. After those two left, baghlat lakbour started talking again. "I will make this as short and clear as possible. I am trapped inside this animalistic body because i hadn't griefed my ex husband Adir. The only way for me to leave this cursed figure and become human again is for a normal man to hold my hands."
"Do i get any say in this?" Asked Mohammed worriedly as he sank his fingernails into the palm of his hand, in a completely unsuccessful attempt to tone down the anxiety that he was feeling . The mule scoffed, looking down at the boy as if he was the most pathetic thing she had ever seen, she said: "This was all your fault, you wanted to get in contact with me. These are the consequence of your own actions, don't you think? This is what you get for disturbing the world of the Ghost"
"Okay i will but i want you to promise me one thing". Said the young man. "Tell me" responded the mule. "I need you to promise me you won't harm me or my friends after you regain your human form." The creature stared at Mohammed, a smirk drawing its way to her face, she said "I won't. Don't worry about it, my only goal is to become human again, i won't harm you or your friends"
Long minutes of contemplating passed and the mule had started to get impatient and agitated. She snapped at Mohammed saying:"what did i tell you before? I am not a patient person. Come over and hold my hand before I do something I will regret" the young man didn't bat an eye and quickly reached over to the woman to hold her hand.
Immediately after he touched the mule's hands, Mohammed started to feel an unbearable pain all over his body, as if life was getting sucked out of him. He felt his heart clench tight and his throat compress, muffled noises came out of his mouth as he noticed the creature's figure getting somewhat bigger. The last words he had heard before passing out were "you should've never trusted me. I am Baghlat lakbour, I don't have feelings, nor do I feel compassion. However, i must thank you for feeding me your soul, i can now become human again."
The lady of the tombs had in fact been known in every myth to be the complete opposite of trustworthy. Like a parasite would feast off his host, she sucked the soul out of her victims in the sheer need of expansion and survival. If only Mohammed had known that before jumping right into the lion's den, or in this case the mule's den.
The end
