What is missing from Peter Pan

I have heard many kids, especially most of my students, talking about the story or movie of Peter Pan. I might have ever watched it before when I was a kid too, but I did not really remember or know the whole story of it. Talking about my students, most of them regarded  Peter Pan as one of their favorites, and it got into some kind of curiosity somehow until one day I visited Gramedia, a big bookstore in Jakarta. Just like what I always do during for visit at a bookstore, I went here and there getting through all the book shelves. I saw a shelve full of classic English story books and stopped. Peter Pan caught me there, and then I started thinking. I knew I could just see the movie, but I thought it would not be a bad idea to get to know the story from the book first. Finally, I decided to purchase a copy of it, took it home, and started reading it.

It took me some time to finish reading the book since I only read it at anytime I had a chance. Eventually, I finished it about two months ago and searched for its movie on the internet to watch right away. At first, I watched the cartoon version launched in 1953. Then, I saw another, the movie, launched in 2003. Both had a happy ending just like most stories end and most people want to see from a story. At this point, I had noticed that something was missing in the movies. In an occasion, I shared this thought to my close friend that "Something is missing in Peter Pan movies," and he said that "It is something normal. It happens in many movies adapted from a book." He is right, I have found it, and sometimes heard it in some other movies. But still, I think Peter Pan movies have missed the main thing in the book.

Yes, it is such a happy ending when Wendy finally gets back to her family with her brothers and lost boys. Then, what about Peter Pan? Where and how is he? He is forgotten all of a sudden in the movie. In fact, according to the book, not long after Wendy's return to home, Peter came to see her again and invited her to go with him to Neverland where he lives. With her mother's permission to spend a week in every spring time in Neverland, off she goes with Peter. Peter always comes every spring time unless he forgets even for such a very long time until Wendy gets married and has a daughter, Jane. Instead of going with her, Wendy lets Peter go with Jane as the next Wendy on his  visit. As time goes by, Jane lets Peter go with her daughter, Margaret as the next next Wendy. It keeps happening this way all over again 'so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless', and most of all, believe in this story.

Personally, I find Peter Pan as a story about 'to believe' in something to happen. Once I believe that something is to happen or to exist, then there it is. As well, something is dead already as I disregard it.

Well anyway, if you had a chance to visit Neverland, would you rather stay there and be a kid forever, like Peter Pan, or leave it and grow up, like Wendy?