First Christmas (Warm Bodies, R/Julie)

R remembers Christmas like a hazy, half-forgotten dream. The memory comes to him with the cold, breezing into his mind one cold, chilly night in December. He closes his eyes to savor it, like he does with every memory of his life before. He remembers the lights, twinkling on trees still green with leaves. He knows that Christmas is supposed to be associated with snow, but he’s from a place without snow, a place where it didn’t get cold enough to snow. He remembers decorating and ornaments, but most of all he remembers presents.

He’s not going to get a present. He doesn’t remember ever getting a present, but he assumes he has. What makes the memory of Christmas stick isn’t the getting, but the giving.

He wants to give Julie a Christmas present.

The compound does not celebrate Christmas. No one has in years. They’ve had bigger concerns. Zombies. People like him. Even now, when the cure is spreading, there are still bonies to worry about. It’s not safe, but it’s getting there. Survival is a real thing and longevity is more than just hope.

What should he get Julie?