If the rejuvenation drug did really exist, I believe that Michael Jackson would try to get it at all costs to retrieve his lost childhood. Unfortunately, there is no such thing in the world and Michael left before the drug is successfully invented.

The sudden death of Michael shocked and saddened the world. His short life was the tragedy of an American dream.

A child who was born in a family of an iron and steel worker had unexpectedly broken the then racial boundary and became a super-idol in the world. It was a typical story of an American dream.

However, Michael’s American dream started to deteriorate at the later stage and it ended as a tragedy after his death.

I could not help but felt sad when I was looking at a photo on the Internet showing the teenage Michael with curly hair, dark skin, jet black eyes and innocent smile and another photo showing the “wacky Michael” with a white-painted face, sunken nose and bright red thin lips.

There were a lot of rumours about his changing appearance and we would never know the truth. However, black-skinned Michael had probably faced a lot of setbacks in order to be successful in the then white-dominated entertainment world.

Even Michael explained later that the lightened skin tone was initially due to the diseases vitiligo and lupus, criticisms still kept going on. Regardless whether his skin colour was black or white, he was not recognised. It was in fact a foreshadow of his tragedy.

The frustration in the adult world had made him to place hope on another dream – to find his lost childhood. However, new controversies aroused after he had developed the “Neverland Ranch” and his standing and reputation were ruined by the child sexual abuse accusations later.

The boy, who had started to perform on stage when he was five, was a precocious child under his father’s rigorous training. But in fact, he was still a child in heart. It was the cruel adult world that could not tolerate his utter innocent.

Michael represented a very special cultural phenomenon as he had successfully broken the racial boundary and gained admirations of all racial groups but at the same time, he was as well a controversial public figure. People had been talking about his every move, including some deliberate vilification.

Michael’s tragedy was in fact a product of the era, an era which is lack of tolerance that makes him “neither black nor white”.

Peter Pan will never grow up. If he was given choices, I believe that Michael would rather live freely on his own Never land as Peter Pan. (By CHUA SZE CHIH/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)