When the Moon Was Ours

Miel is bleeding out in the woods. She discovers she has wandered to the glass coffin, and thinks about the futility of the Bonner sisters’ wishes and how they have taken all her light, just as she thought they had stolen the moon the night she came out of the water town. Delirious, Miel collapses beside the stained-glass coffin.

Sam, Aracely, and Sam’s mother go looking for Miel. Sam finds Miel in the woods and tries to stop the bleeding, but Sam knows that she is dying.

Miel thinks back to one of the moons Sam made her, which was pale pink like a rose. She holds on to him and sees that he is crying rose petals instead of tears. A new stem grows from Miel’s wrist and stabs Sam’s wrist, drawing blood out of his body. Miel resists, but Sam restrains her so that his blood can heal her. As she recovers, she hears the Bonner girls approach.

As the Bonner girls come closer, Miel tries to convince Sam to leave her alone. He refuses. She confesses that the sisters know his secret, and Sam considers the relationship he has with his body and his birth identity, Samira. He realizes the truth: He is the only person who can decide his own identity, not anyone else. Sam and Miel stay to confront the Bonner girls together. When they arrive, Sam tells them that he is a boy, and “[he] always [has] been” (252). At that moment, a crack appears in the glass coffin.

Miel considers her relationship with Aracely and her dead mother, and the memories of her past. She tells Ivy that she knows her mother loved her, and another crack appears in the coffin. Peyton admits she’s attracted to girls, and Lian reveals that she understands more than anyone thinks. With each truth, a new crack is made. Ivy becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the revelations. Chloe reveals the name of her baby daughter: Clara. Miel realizes Ivy’s secret is that she has no secret—no identity outside her place with her sisters. She had wanted the roses from Miel’s wrist because she thought they would restore her sisters to her, keep their collective power, and give her life purpose. She admits out loud that nothing belongs to her alone. The glass coffin shatters. After the explosion, the glass floats up to the sky. Chloe, Lian, and Peyton leave Ivy alone. Ivy and Miel realize they have changed hair colors; Miel’s is now red, while Ivy’s is dark. When they look around, they see that all the glass pumpkins have shattered too.

In the aftermath, Chloe leaves town. Ivy sends Miel all of the roses she stole, a form of apology. Miel asks Sam for one of his moons, and she and Aracely give it to the wind so it can guide their mother’s spirit. They believe their mother has finally moved on.

Sam considers his taken name, Samir, and his birth name, Samira. He feels Samira is a shadow or a sister, external to his body. The next time he goes to Miel’s house, he has removed the binder he wears around his chest. He worries about Miel’s reaction, but Miel sees it as an acceptance of who he is on the inside. They each reflect on their transformations and the link of shared experience between Miel and Ivy. Miel and Sam prepare to undress completely for the first time, a new intimacy, trust, and confidence in their relationship.

Miel thinks about her experiences, and the things she has learned from Aracely and Sam. She believes that Sam has power in his hands—hands that turn flowers into pumpkins and paint moons to light the sky. She looks forward to the things they will continue to learn together.