The Cabinetmaster became less threatening after he made an agreement with Aulden. In fact, after moving from the basement and into the south-facing storefront, he appeared gentle and harmless. Wearing his wire-frame glasses, huddled over his ledger, he was a man with a singular focus: the management of the enormous cabinet.

The cabinet was also less frightening now that they'd moved it from the basement and into the shop upstairs. Electric sparks no longer leaped out at Aulden from the dozens of little dresser drawers. In the light, Aulden could admire its ornate carvings and glowing patina.

Aulden asked, "Every one of these drawers…?" and the Cabinetmaster completed the sentence, answering, "…holds an aspect of you. See how complex you are? So many little drawers."

Aulden opened a drawer and lifted a scarf from inside. The Cabinetmaster smiled and placed it back inside. "It's not really time for this one."

Aulden opened another drawer and, after looking inside, made a puzzled glance at the Cabinetmaster who said to him, "So many little objects related to things you couldn't face, pressed down, stuffed into this cabinet. One at a time, we can integrate them back into your life."

Aulden leaned against the wall and in a wave of anxiety he slid to the floor. When the Cabinetmaster noticed this, he said, "Oh my! Something's wrong?"
Aulden replied, "We have a lot of work to do."

The Cabinetmaster smiled and said, "I think I have just the thing for you to take on your next journey." He opened a drawer and brought out a Barbie doll.

Aulden felt awkward as he took the doll, and he asked, "What do I do with it?"

The Cabinetmaster said, "Better just put it in your backpack for now. After you come back I'll have a new object for you!" The Cabinetmaster was intense and enthusiastic in his new role.

Aulden slung his backpack over one shoulder, and said, "See you when I get back."

Weeks had passed without an opportunity to deal with the Barbie in his backpack. None of the figures Aulden met seemed to be appropriate for dealing with this little doll.

However, Aulden remembered the doll and felt that he'd met the right person while he was having a conversation with the Haitian priestess, Detail.

Aulden said to Detail, "I have something," and reached into the pack, "Can I show you…" But the doll had changed, and the moment he lifted it out he yelled, "Oh my God!" and dropped it onto the floor. The doll was hideous, with wild, frizzy hair and an angry, contorted face; it's eyes and mouth twisted into a horrible grimace.

The doll ran around the room looking for a way to escape. Detail called to it, "Come here little girl. Come to Mama Detail." It went to her as if willed to obey.

Detail held the doll, saying, "There's no chivalry no more. There is equality. This doll is an evil thing."

Aulden, in the style of an introvert, internalized this and inquired, "What does it show about me?"

Detail explained, "She is an object and the women you love like her you make into objects."

Aulden needed more, and asked, "How should I see them?"

Detail told him, "See them like me: The light pouring out. The answers you seek. The questions you find. You see like, you know, like the Jeopardy questions coming after the answer." Aulden nodded in agreement even though this made no sense to him.

She looked at the doll and said, "Now for you, little girl." Detail pulled a strand of her own hair from her head and used it to tie the doll's arms and legs, and she whispered, "There, there. Sleep for Mama Detail." She handed the doll back to Aulden.

They'd been in the city, back from their journey, for only a few hours. Aulden said to The Wind, "Let's drop in on the Cabinetmaster."

Aulden was taking quite a liking to this man who managed the objects in the cabinet. The Cabinetmaster was always focused entirely on the workings of the cabinet. "It was important to have the electrical system repaired," he explained, "because each drawer has its own degree of light."

As they talked about objects relating to various journeys, the Cabinetmaster asked him, "Do you want your relationship with your wife to improve?"

Aulden responded with a wall of resistance, "Why would you ask that?"

The Cabinetmaster continued, "I'll look around and see if I can find an object."

Aulden had a talent for changing the subject when he was uncomfortable. He could change topics without even realizing he was doing it and without knowing why he was doing it. This time, however, he very consciously and intentionally changed the subject by saying, "I brought the Barbie doll back." The Cabinetmaster was too caught up in his work to notice that he'd struck a nerve.

Aulden removed the little doll from his backpack. It still appeared grotesque and angry, fighting to be free of the bonds. The Cabinetmaster examined it, "If Detail tied it with her hair, it will stay tied."

Aulden asked, "Do you know her - Detail?"

The Cabinetmaster assured him, "Oh yes, I know her."

"The Wind said we couldn't change the doll until we found its counterpart, and then we'd have a paradox to solve," Aulden explained. "He said it's hard to change a thing if it's autonomous."

The Cabinetmaster gave a nod of recognition, "Ah, the autonomous complex."

Suddenly Aulden felt a sense of pity for the doll, and asked, "What do I do with her?"

The Cabinetmaster understood, and said, "Don't worry, we'll keep it in here. Maybe some day you'll find it's match and you'll be ready to untie it again."

Aulden already knew the answer to this, but he asked again, "What's your function in my life, Cabinetmaster?" The fellow answered patiently, even though they'd been through this weeks ago, "I organize feelings and emotions."

Aulden continued, "Why were you hiding in the basement before?"

The Cabinetmaster explained, "Because you didn't want those things organized. You only wanted them stuffed away; hidden away. You're ready to face them now."

Aulden agreed, "I am ready."

Outside in the street, Aulden could hear the sound of dogs howling. He said to the Cabinetmaster, "Do you hear that? Do you hear those dogs?"

The Cabinetmaster had a clipboard and was making notes about things in various drawers and, without looking up, he said, "Just a distraction, Aulden." The Cabinetmaster laughed as he continued his work, and noted, "Dogs howling in the street: distractions, distractions. Some people here don't want you to be ready."