Tomika and Lancelot were in love. Tomika was a Muslim and Lancelot a Christian, and because of this, their families would not permit them to get engaged. The two loved each other so much that one could not live with the other. So they eloped and left their home country, Malawi, and ran to South Africa.

Their parents still quarrelled and blamed each other for the disappearance of their children.

Four months later, Tomika became pregnant and happiness only continued in their lives. The couple had broken all ties with their families and couldn’t share this great news. But life was great and Lancelot showered Tomika with all the love in the world and she never complained about anything.

Lancelot worked as a taxi driver in the streets of Soweto, and Tomika was a housewife.

One day, after taking his breakfast and kissing Tomika goodbye, he went off to work. On the road, a truck suddenly hit his taxi and it flew like a plane. The taxi was totally smashed and by looking at the accident, one could tell there were no signs of life. People gathered around to see what had happened and called an ambulance.

At the hospital all the passengers were declared dead, including Lancelot.

The hospital called Tomika to inform her about the accident and when she got there, she was told that Lancelot was dead. She went to identify him and cried bitterly when she saw him dead. She felt angry and alone.

After some months, she returned to Malawi to apologise to her parents. She hoped that she could once again have her family’s support with her unborn baby. When she got home she learned that her parents had died a year ago. Tomika felt traumatised and confused. She felt the pain of the loss of a husband and parents. But she had her baby to live for so she picked herself up and later found a job at a library.

Things were finally looking up and after a lot of suffering and difficulty, she was her usual self and was content with her life. But then she lost the baby and the devastation started again.

After some years, she grew successful while still working at the library. People always mocked her saying a septuagenarian, a person who is between 70 and 79 years old, could never be happy. They always mocked her because she was lonely, but wealthy.

She stood on a bridge one day, trying to take her life. She was fed up with all the pain. A man, about her age, saw her and convinced her not to commit suicide. She started to live, with the man’s support and help.

After some months, they fell in love. They were septuagenarians in love. They later got married and she was finally happy at the age of 70. She found her rainbow and those who mocked her were ashamed. Tomika found her happiness at the age of 70 after years of a life filled with pain.

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Tell us: Do you think love has an age-limit? Why or why not?