Editorial by Manuela Amiouny
427 words, ~2 minutes reading time
Issue 9 (Winter 2025)
The end of the year often creeps up on me. One moment I’m enjoying a cold drink on a sunny terrace, and suddenly it’s November, daylight is gone by 4PM and I am tackling the last month of the year. This year, even nature doesn’t seem quite ready for the end of autumn: our first snowstorm came early; trees still have a headful of yellow and red leaves and green grass still peaks out from under icy patches on the ground.
Life is littered with endings, even if they keep taking me by surprise; from the end of a work day, or a semester of school, to a break up or the death of someone close. In the context of relationships especially, the stronger the bond, the more striking the ending. Sometimes, we face these endings together, grow around them and come back stronger, together on the other side. Sometimes, these endings separate us, make us go on our own respective ways. Grief, as they say, is just love reaching out for someone who’s no longer there.
Endings are a big theme in this issue: you will find many farewells, apocalypses, the decay of laws of physics and things lurking in the water, waiting to drag you under. They all hide a second theme: the new beginnings that follow right after. Much like the death card in tarot signifies transition, these stories and poems speak of new, kinder, communities that emerge from the rubble, of gardens that spread after the end, of the metamorphosis of a life into another. It’s very fitting besides, that all of these pieces brim with nature and vegetation, the champion of dying and growing back and persisting.
The Heartlines Spec editorial team is going through an ending of its own too, as poetry editor Jess Cho steps down to go tackle other ventures. It’s the start of something new and wonderful for them, and I loved working with them on selecting and editing pieces for this issue as I step into the role in their place: a new beginning for me too.
I secretly enjoy these cold and dark months because they bring anticipation for the new year and the potential for a fresh start. They’re also a good excuse to gather my friends, my family, and all the people who are important to me, to reminisce, celebrate, and face it all together.
We hope you will enjoy the pieces in this issue, that they will carry you over the end of the year and gently deposit you into the new one.
