Immeasurable Loss

The sky loomed overhead full of dark gray clouds that seemed ready to cry just as she was over the unmarked grave. Her dark black tresses fell over her stumped shoulders in long light curls. Her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She could feel the soft soil through her pale, worn robe, the chill from the mountain air soaking through it roughly caress her jade-like skin. Her bright hazel eyes, darkened by deep black circles that hung below them, looked over the recently disturbed soil before her as she poured her salty tears over its surface.

"I, Jung Yu Hua, will always remember you, Old Auntie" Her voice was only a hoarse whisper. She started to reminisce in her grief. Yu Hua thought about when she first met her Old Auntie, she had been five years of age to the day. Her brother struggled to keep them both fed, let alone healthy.

Jung Yu Hua still saw the old women, she had almond-shaped eyes that somehow always smiled at you. Old Auntie had always been a short woman, standing barely at 5'. She had hair that reminded you of the amber of honey. Yu Hua always felt you could tell anything you needed to about her Old Aunt just by her eye's and hair. She was always there with a smile and her personality was as sweet as honey.

Old Auntie had taken her in, on that day without question. Yu Hua had been only a small bag of bones.

"Well look at you." Old Auntie had said in the sweetest of tones she had ever heard before she scooped Yu Hua up into her embrace and held her to her. Yu Hua had never felt so safe or loved in all her short life.

She remembered thinking 'Jung Houyan, thank you.' Yu Hua had never said those words to her brother, but she knew that he had understood her sentiment all those years ago. Shortly after she came to stay with her Old Auntie, her brother had left. Yu Hua had never seen him after that. Her Old Auntie would tell her he had sent news now and then about how he was doing. She had never really believed her Old Auntie knowing her brother as she did, but she had always appreciated the thought.

"I hope you are reborn into an easy peaceful life, Old Auntie!" Yu Hua sobbed harder only just noticing that the clouds above were mourning with her. She felt herself being soaked and the cold settling over her. Shuddering from both cold and sobs, she could not bring herself to leave her Old Aunties side just yet.

"I'm blessed by the heavens to have been able to spend six years by your side, I'll stay a while longer still" she whispered. She stood slowly not leaving from the grave even an inch. She would mourn her Old Auntie properly even if no one else ever did.

Jung Yu Hua unsteadily touched her cheek not sure if she were still shedding tears or if the heavens were now shedding them for her. Her cheeks were pink with cold and dripping wet from the rain as was the rest of her still small self. At twelve, she was still small for her age like most of the others her age she had been around. She had the start of a woman's charm. Any person would be able to tell that she would become a breathtaking woman in just a few years. Yu Hua watched for several days as the moon and sun rotated in the sky, shedding light and darkness as they went.

She had stood for seven days never leaving her Old Auntie's side as she had promised. Reminiscing as she stood there more and more through her memories. Yu Hua slowly felt her sadness ease as it slowly gave way to hunger, cold, and pain. She took a deep breath and let out one last tear.

"Farewell, Old Auntie, I hope in this life I will meet you again someday and return every kindness you have shown me in this life" this time her voice had some light to it, though faint as it was.

Yu Hua turned to slowly follow the path back down the mountain towards the village that had become her home. Her soft footsteps fell as she walked, the moonlight highlighting her feminine features and making her jade-like skin shine with a wondrous luster.

"Senior brother Li Tian, look!" Jung Yu Hua heard a voice coming from farther down the mountain. She looked up to see three young men in matching blue robes. Unease started to make its way through her as the one that had been addressed looked ahead right at her. Yu Hua steadily looked down and continued to make her way down. She had seen the blue robes before and all she could hear was her Old Auntie telling her to stay away from them, she had told her that they were trouble.

As the group got closer her unease grew increasingly fretting, she had a bad feeling about this and started to walk faster.

"Hey, little sister, where are you going? The sect is the other way up the mountain?" the that had spoken asked her, following closely behind the one that he had addressed as senior brother Li Tian. Yu Hua shuddered she had been hoping to simply pass them by and be on her way.

"Junior sister, you know it is punishable by the clan to be out without official order" Li Tian spoke this time, something about his voice and demeanor made her want to run. She looked at him in detail, the young man had a strong face with a single scar treading under his chin, his eyes were black and shined in the moonlight accompanying his well-sculpted jaw. Yu Hua thought, all in all, he was a handsome young man, nothing about him looked menacing so why did she have such a terrible gut feeling.

"I am not your junior sister I am just heading to my home from the grave site a little way up the mountain" She half stammered the words out. She couldn't place why her unease was quickly turning to fear. The group looked amongst themselves and their faces took on a sinister look. Li Tian's eyes glittered at her with a leering look in his eyes that made her skin crawl.

"I'll just be on my way" She forced the words out as she began to half run down the mountain.

"Aww, little junior sister how about you stay and play with this senior brother of yours" Li Tian's words sent chills of disgust down her spine. She didn't care to know what he fully meant by that. Yu Hua took off into a full out run past them down the mountain.

"Oh, I think this junior sister is lying to us look at her speed no way she is a disgusting peasant that lives in the village." In full out panic, Yu Hua started to run at top speed down the mountain. Her unease had yet to lessen though she could no longer see them behind her. She pushed herself to run faster wanting to get home as fast as she could.

"Got ya!" Li Tian sneered as he caught up in a flash and grabbed her arm. Yu Hua yelled out as she felt her shoulder dislocate from her sudden stop. She began to panic as she looked at what was holding her arm. Li Tian threw her in the brush along the path she had just been running.

"uhmphh" the air was forced from her lungs as she landed hard. How did he catch her? Who was he? What did he want from her? Yu Hua's panic quickly took hold of her as she tried to force herself up and run.

"ahhhhh!" She yelled out in pain as one of the guys that had been following Li Tian, stomped down on her arm, and a loud cracking sounded out. Yu Hua let out a silent scream in her head at the pain radiating from the break as the man continued to grind his foot into her arm. Li Tian smirked down at her as he moved closer to her pinning her underneath him. Terror struck Yu Hua tried to struggle from beneath him. Li Tian chuckled at her struggles and ripped at her worn robe tearing it from her upper body easily exposing her small breasts. The look in his eyes made her struggle harder to unpin herself to no avail.

"Looks like you really are just a disgusting peasant after all" Li Tian laughing as he taunted her further.

"Hold her leg" He barked at the other young man who quickly grabbed her leg. Yu Hua thrashed wildly as she felt Li Tian's hand make its way up her robe. Li Tian forced his hand past her thighs until he shoved his fingers into her innocence.

"You like that don't you, you peasant whore" He laughed manically as he pulled his hand from her and licked her essence from his fingers. He quickly undid his own robe and pulled out his member. Yu Hua cursed him over and over until her voice became hoarse. Li Tian pulled her thighs apart and used his knee to keep them spread. He marveled at large bruises from his hands marred her jade-like flesh. Li Tian purposely squeezed a few more times around her thighs increasing the bruising till her flesh began to lightly bleed.

"Please…" Yu Hua pleaded. Li Tian's member sickly hardened at her pleading. A vicious grin spread across his face as he positioned himself and jammed his member into her innocence. Her body jerked back violently from the strength of his penetration. Pain struck her harshly as a sense of terrifying calm rushed over her. Yu Hua looked at Li Tian directly etching every inch of his features deeply into her memory. She used his next painful thrust to propel herself backward knocking his two companions off balance. Yu Hua grasped with her sudden freedom for anything she could use. She managed to wrap her hand around a rock roughly the size of her palm. Yu Hua grabbed it with all her strength and slammed it into Li Tian's temple.

"aghh" Li Tian screamed out falling back from the assault. Yu Hua used the lapse in reaction from his stunned companions to launch herself up from the ground and run straight into the forest behind her as fast as her legs could carry her.

Jung Yu Hua felt her legs pumping faster and faster, the trees and brush around began to be a blur as she sped past them. She had long since stopped hearing her pursuers, but she couldn't stop she had to get as far away as possible. Her feet hit the ground hard propelling her further and further away. Her lungs burned from the exhausting effort and pain that coursed through her body.

She wasn't sure how long she had been running for, but she felt herself starting to slow. Her breathing came in ragged gasps for air. She pushed herself to keep moving. Her steps had become heavy as she dragged her feet through the overgrown woods around her. Yu Hua stepped down and felt the ground give way underfoot. Her body lurched, she looked just quick enough to see the cavernous hole below her as she slammed into the side of the hole's rock wall.

Feeling herself crunch hard against the hard surface and continue falling in, all she could hear was the sickening sound of her own flesh split and bleed from wounds and scratches. Her dislocated shoulder and broken arm screamed in agony from the impact. She attempted to brace herself to hit the bottom of the cave floor. Yu Hua felt hit a hard-wet surface, the pain from the impact quite severe though not what she had expected as she felt herself sink into that wet surface.

She tried to gulp in a breath of air before she had realized she had hit a body of water at the bottom of the cave. Her body spasmed with effort trying to force the water from her lungs. Yu Hua struggled to swim to the surface, kicking her worn out legs and using her broken left arm and dislocated right arm. Adrenaline kicking in as she awkwardly and painfully broke the surface and gulped in a breath of air, allowing her body to float for only a second before pushing herself to find the end of the water. Her extremities were beginning to go numb from exhaustion. She couldn't think she only knew she needed to reach the shore and quickly. She shook her head in a continuous effort to maintain consciousness. To sleep now, meant she would take this unknown cavern lake as her final resting place.

Yu Hua felt her feet touch the sand and knew she was close. She attempted to stand on her tired legs. Her body felt inexplicably heave as she heaved herself into a standing position. She found herself giving thanks to the surrounding water. She wasn't sure if she would be able to stand otherwise. Groaning in pain she took a few steps forward before collapsing back into the water. She fought to bring herself back above the surface of the water and slowly made her way closer to the shore.

She couldn't see anything in the dark cavern only a shadow of her surroundings, but she could feel the unmistakable prickling of the sand on her sore abused skin as she made her way into shallower waters. Yu Hua could barely drag her battered body fully onto the shore before exhaustion overtook her.