The most random things came out of Tina's satchel and the kicker was: she didn't put them there. No one did. Whatever we drew out came out of its own accord from nowhere - and once they arrived, we didn't immediately know what they were there for, but the item would always turn out to be useful. Always.

 

One time it wasn't a fight we saw, but a drunk teenage girl on a winter evening. What came out of Tina's bag was several packets of charcoal. That's right: charcoal.

 

The girl was waiting for a train, standing a few feet away from Tina and myself. It had started to grow very cold that week, cold enough to see your breath, but that didn't stop this girl from wearing a simple dress and shoes - no jacket, no scarf, no hat. Red-faced and leaning against the doorway, she waited for the train. She started to slip down, lower and lower, until she was a human heap among a swathe of purple cloth and shiny matching shoes on the platform floor. I looked at Tina, who nodded and began to rummage in her satchel.

 

As ever, we did not expect what she pulled out. We had a guessing game as to what would be provided but we were never even close. This time, I was guessing a blanket and said, "A blanket." Tina said, "A coat." Neither of us knew what to do with the packets of charcoal until we flipped one of them over and found a set of instructions:

 

Remove from packet. Shake to activate charcoal. Apply to warm. Warning: do not apply directly to skin. Estimated active time: 6 hours.

 

I looked at Tina. "You'd better do it." I ripped open a package to reveal a white paper and cloth packet of charcoal. I shook it up until it started to grow hot and gave it to Tina, who took off the strips to the adhesive backing.

 

She walked over to the cold girl with the red features and said, "This should warm you up till you get home, miss." She stuck it on her back, two more on her sleeves and the last two on her stockings. The girl stirred and said in a weak voice, "Thank you. I'll be fine" before shutting her eyes again.

 

When the train arrived, Tina and I hoisted her in and hefted her onto a seat. A few stops later, when Tina and I got off for the interchange, the girl was still sound asleep. Tina waved silently to her before we stepped off the train and walked away.