A whirlwind kicks up, whipping everything into the air. The hole in the wall is like a giant vacuum cleaner -- papers, book, toiletries, bedding -- if it ain't nailed down, it gets sucked down the hole toward the light. Red fights it, but the suction drags him closer and closer…

RED'S POV

…and CAMERA rockets into the hole, getting sucked down an endless tunnel at impossible speed, the ROAR of air mixing with his drawn-out SCREAM, closer and closer to the light…

…and erupting out the other side into total silence and a beautiful white beach. The Pacific Ocean before us. Enormous. Mind-blowing. Beautiful beyond description. All we hear now are the gentle sound of waves.

RED (V.O.)

…dreams where I am lost in a warm place with no memory.

A lone figure stands at water's edge. CAMERA KEEPS MOVING, coming up behind him and TRACKING AROUND to reveal -- Red.

RED (V.O.)

An ocean so big it strikes me dumb. Waves so quiet they strike me deaf. Sunshine so bright it strikes me blind. It is a place that is blue beyond reason. Bluer than can possibly exist. Bluer than my mind can possibly grasp.

AERIAL SHOT

Nothing for a million miles but beach, sky, and water. Red is a tiny speck at water's edge. Just another grain of sand.

RED (V.O.)

I am terrified. There is no way home.

INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966)

Red wakes from the nightmare. He gets out of bed. Moves to the barred window of his cell. Peers up at the stars.

RED (V.O.)

Andy. I know you're in that place. Look at the stars for me just after sunset. Touch the sand… wade in the water…and feel free.

FADE TO BLACK

AN IRON-BARRED DOOR

slides open with an enormous CLANG. A stark room beyond. CAMERA PUSHES through. SIX MEN AND ONE WOMAN sit at a long table. An empty chair faces them. We are again in:

INT -- SHAWSHANK HEARINGS ROOM -- DAY (1967)

Red enters, sits. 20 years older than when we first saw him.

MAN #1

Your file says you've served forty years of a life sentence. You feel you've been rehabilitated?

Red doesn't answer. Just stares off. Seconds tick by. The parole board exchanges glances. Somebody clears his throat.

MAN #1

Shall I repeat the question?

RED

I heard you. Rehabilitated. Let's see now. You know, come to think of it, I have no idea what that means.

MAN #2

Well, it means you're ready to rejoin society as a--

RED

I know what you think it means. Me, I think it's a made-up word, a politician's word. A word so young fellas like you can wear a suit and tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?

MAN #2

Well… are you?

RED

Not a day goes by I don't feel regret, and not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on myself the way I was… stupid kid who did that terrible crime…wish I could talk sense to him. Tell him how things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, this old man is all that's left, and I have to live with that.