When the Moon Was Ours

Sam and Aracely prepare for the lovesickness cure, and Aracely mentions that Miel is at school. Sam realizes Ivy lied and thinks they’re cutting class together. Sam thinks about how he pushed down his feelings to keep his friendship with Miel secure, and now he feels he has ruined things by acting on his feelings. Aracely begins her cure, selecting ingredients and using her hands to massage the lovesickness away. Sam remembers when he and Miel were young, and he put gold star stickers on her skin. Later that day, he pulled them off to reveal tan lines in the shapes of constellations. He decides he wants to stop the cure and hold on to his feelings. He acknowledges that both his love for Miel and his Gender Identity are a part of him—both make him who he is. Sam leaves the house and goes around to the moons he has hung, taking most of them down.

In the coffin, Miel can feel Sam’s light fading. She remembers the moons he made for her when she needed love or comfort. Sam arrives and rescues Miel from the coffin. They kiss and make amends without speaking.

Sam brings Miel to his house, because Miel doesn’t want Aracely to know what happened to her. She refuses to tell Sam who locked her in the coffin. Miel thinks back to a happy memory in which she, Leandro, and their mother made alfajores together. She offers to teach Sam how to make them, and they go into the kitchen to prepare them. As they cook, Miel asks Sam why he wasn’t in school; he admits he got into a fight. Miel considers Sam’s mother’s expectations of him, and apologizes for pushing him to talk about his identity. She accidentally burns herself on the hot liquid, and Sam puts her burnt hand to his lips. They each overcome their shyness and begin kissing. Miel explores his body with her hands, considering the differences between them and Sam’s relationship with his own body. She wonders if his shape is what made the Bonner girls guess his secret.

Miel comes home and announces she wants to carve a pumpkin for the yearly lighting tradition. Aracely is astonished, knowing Miel’s phobia of them. Miel is still cautious and hesitant, but determined to overcome her fear.

Sam remembers offering his help to Lian in school, knowing how she struggles with reading. However, he knows that she is more intelligent in other areas than she lets on. He finds her at the farm and announces he’s quitting. Later, Peyton finds Sam and ensures he’s still willing to cover up her relationships. Sam agrees and inquires about the pumpkin she used to carry around when she was small. Peyton lights up and remembers her pumpkin “Lady Jane Grey,” admitting that her sisters turned it into a pie. She remembers the day she met Miel at the water tower and accidentally frightened her with the pumpkin. She tells Sam she wasn’t trying to scare Miel, and Sam realizes she was only a little girl trying to share her favorite toy.

Miel approaches the river with her carved pumpkin. She passes some elderly women from the community who smile at her; she realizes they’re proud of her for overcoming her notorious fear. She goes to the river and releases her pumpkin with the others, but the rushing sound of the water brings back her traumatic memories. Miel feels as though part of her is still inside the floating pumpkins, so she goes to them and starts pulling the tops off. She remembers being a disappointment to her mother because of her roses, and her father warning her mother of the harm Miel would bring. She realizes her father left them because of her and continues looking through the pumpkins in the water. Aracely and Sam catch Miel and bring her back. Miel remembers the day she first saw Sam and thought he was her brother, except now she sees those same features in Aracely’s face. She realizes that every time she thought Aracely wanted to ask her a question, she really wanted to confess the truth. When Miel looks at Sam, she sees that Sam already knew. Betrayed, Miel runs away.

Sam stands in his room painting moons. He thinks about how his moons have always expressed his love when he was unable to say it out loud. He regrets Miel’s anger, but feels justified in not telling her about Aracely because it wasn’t his secret. His mother comes in and invites him to eat, then questions him about Miel’s behavior at the lighting. Sam tells her they aren’t friends anymore, and thinks about the father he never knew. His parents got married because his father wanted a visa and his mother wanted a child. They divorced shortly after. Sam and his mother talk about his past and his decision to become her son. Sam gathers the courage to tell her he wants to remain a boy. She sees his determination and agrees to support him.

Miel looks through Aracely’s closet, searching for signs of Leandro. As Miel processes her feelings, Aracely approaches and explains how the river transformed her into a woman. Miel is hurt that she wasn’t also transformed, but was instead caught in the water tower in a state between life and death. Aracely says that she was able to sense Miel’s presence, and convinced the town the water tower was a safety hazard to be knocked down. She explains that they come from a family of witches where everyone has a gift. Miel was the first to be born with roses in a hundred years. The revelation prompts the memories Miel had previously repressed.

Miel runs away as she remembers her father cautioning her mother against the curse of Miel’s roses. An ancestor with roses had poisoned her own family. Miel’s father was determined to repress them, and tried to burn them away with a hot knife. Leandro was initially resistant, then helped his father harm Miel. She still has the burn scar from the incident. Miel’s mother and father argued and were unable to come to an agreement, prompting Miel’s father to leave them. However, her mother continued trying to cure Miel at the recommendations of their priests. Aracely finds her and tries to apologize for the past. Miel expresses her guilt over her mother’s and Leandro’s deaths. She forgives Aracely for hiding her secret and tells her she’s smart for hiding her true self given the prejudice of the townspeople. Aracely argues that she’s doing the opposite—she’s become her true self.

Miel confronts Ivy and tells her she won’t participate anymore, threatening to reveal Peyton and Lian’s secrets. She determines to uncover Ivy’s secret too, but Ivy says it’s not possible. As they argue, a new rose begins growing from Miel’s wrist. Miel realizes that Ivy is driven by the fear of losing her sisters and their shared identity. She taunts her, and in response, Ivy pulls out the growing rose from its roots. Miel screams and bleeds profusely. Lian arrives, having heard the screaming, and Miel fears the sisters will hold her down until she bleeds to death. She throws one of the glass pumpkins at them and runs away.