WTF, Romance is not only love things?

It’s not just a wordification of affection or desire - it’s something far more mysterious, almost like a piece of art in itself. "Romance" carries with it a certain nostalgia, a dreamlike wonder, and a subtle ache for something just out of reach. It evokes more than emotion; it evokes possibility.

Originally, the word had nothing to do with love at all. It began as a descriptor of language. Around the 11th century, a romanz referred to a story told in one of the Romance languages - vernacular tongues like Old French or Italian -  rather than the scholarly Latin.

Then it became a genre of storytelling. These romanz were tales of knights, quests, enchanted forests, and noble deeds - epic narratives infused with chivalry, courage, and yes, occasionally courtly love.

Only later, by the 17th century, did "romance" narrow its meaning. Love, the most personal and dramatic of human adventures, took centre stage. The word became a synonym for idealised passion - filtered through centuries of stories that taught us how to dream.

But let’s not forget: at its core, romance is about the space between reality and imagination - a longing, a beauty, a pursuit.