Chapter 2: The Forgotten Study
Gerald nearly passed the doorway.
He was watching the butterfly move between the trees when it turned toward an old building, hovered near the entrance, and disappeared inside.
He stopped and peered through the partly open door.
The butterfly was there, just beyond him.
Gerald slipped inside.
Books filled the wooden shelves along the wall. Some stood neatly in rows; others leaned against their neighbors. The room was quiet, and Gerald paused to listen before venturing farther.
A shaft of sunlight fell through the window onto a desk.
There, an open book lay beside a small stack of closed ones. The butterfly settled on its pages, its orange wings bright against the faded paper.
Gerald moved closer.
He could make out winding lines, small markings and a trail of arrows. It looked like a map, though he didn’t recognize any of the places.
He followed the arrows with his eyes, wondering where they might lead.
Then he noticed the key.
It rested on a red book beside the open pages, its brass edges catching the light.
Gerald looked down. Beneath the desktop was a drawer with a small keyhole.
He glanced back at the butterfly. It stayed on the map, slowly opening and closing its wings.
There was something to discover on the page. There might be something to discover in the drawer, too.
He’d followed one small curiosity into the forest. Now it had brought him here, with another decision waiting.
Should Gerald read the map?
The markings might help him find his way beyond the studio. Someone had left a path on the page—but where did it lead?
Or…
Should Gerald use the key?
The drawer was closed, and its contents were hidden. He wouldn’t know what was inside until he opened it.
I asked you to choose his next step.
And you chose the key.
What was hidden
Gerald nudged the key toward the edge of the book and picked it up.
It fit the drawer’s lock.
He turned it, heard a small click, and pulled. The drawer stuck for a moment before sliding open.
Inside were paper packets and a small garden spade.
Gerald leaned closer. Each packet held seeds. Faded pictures on the fronts showed flowers and leafy plants, with handwritten notes beneath them.
He gently shifted the packets aside. There was nothing else underneath.
He sat back and looked at what he’d found.
Someone had gathered these things, placed them together, and tucked them away. Perhaps they’d intended to plant them when the weather warmed. Perhaps they’d simply never found the time.
Gerald couldn’t know.
But the seeds were still there.
The butterfly lifted from the book and fluttered toward the doorway. Gerald watched it for a moment, then looked back into the drawer.
He found a small cloth pouch beneath the packets and gathered the seeds inside, tucking the spade alongside them.
Whatever waited beyond this room, he had a feeling these were worth bringing.
At the doorway, he paused once more.
Then he stepped outside to follow the butterfly.
About the painting
The Forgotten Studio is a 16 × 20-inch original oil painting and Chapter Two of Gerald’s Choose Your Own Adventure series.
Your choice to follow the butterfly brought him here. Your next choice uncovered something that had been waiting in a drawer.
Now Gerald carries the possibility of new growth with him—even though he doesn’t yet know where it belongs.
The next painting will reveal who he meets along the way.
Chapter Two
The Forgotten Study
Original oil painting on canvas
16 × 20 inches
Dimensions: 16 × 20 in.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signed: Yes
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Shipping: Free U.S. shipping
A forgotten room. An open page. A key waiting to be noticed.
The Forgotten Studio is Chapter Two of the Gerald Choose Your Own Adventure series, an interactive painting series shaped by audience choices as Gerald follows one discovery into the next.
In this chapter, light falls across an abandoned desk, revealing two possibilities: an open page and a mysterious key. Each choice becomes part of Gerald’s unfolding path—and part of a larger story about curiosity, connection, and finding our way one decision at a time.
The journey continues
Where did the key lead Gerald?
Chapter Three—and the next original painting—will be revealed soon.
