Vanessa Mae and Dizzy up the Girl

I had an amazing girlfriend living in Perth on a short term student visa who had to return to Switzerland for not only Christmas but forever, leaving me hanging in Perth - this was for all intense purposes the end of our oh so short and passionate relationship. Reluctantly, I had been searching music stores for one particular CD; much to chagrin, this CD couldn't be found anywhere - damn.

So dropping her at Perth International Airport; the check-in line for Singapore Airlines was long, I decided to wander around and burn up some time, this was a fairly miserable day for me; better to be doing something - anything to take my mind off our final farewell.

Meeting her at the Dome Cafe near the departures entrance, it was a fairly solemn occasion, not many words were exchanged, the mood was somber and body language awkward and subdued. This was the moment I had been dreading; I felt like I was not far away from flicking the switch on the life support system and waiting for the heartbeat to flatline. She reached into her hand luggage and looking away handed me a CD of The Four Seasons by Vanessa Mae, she knows I love the work of Vivaldi and a violin concerto.

I reached around my produced from the back on my pants Dizzy up the Girl by the Goo Goo Dolls, the alternate American rock band I really love. She produced a walkman from her hand luggage, this scene occurred more than a decade ago so portable CD players were still in vogue.

I told her to select track 11 and immediately Iris sprang to life, in my view the greatest pop song written. This is the point, the cracks in her facade formed, her face started to contort and then the tears suddenly flowed freely. In one last desperate attempt while waiting for her to check-in, I had a look through the music selection alongside Dome Cafe and the album that had eluded me for weeks suddenly materialised. This was the point I knew the relationship would survive, this wasn't the end, this was the beginning.

She finally departed with a tortured face and beaten demeanor; she still had to leave but now with red eyes, tear tracks etched in her face and a look of total resignation. She told me later the immigration official took one look at her and inquired "why are you leaving?" and between sobs she replied "I don't know."

So six weeks later, I am back at Perth International Airport this time full of hope and anticipation. The words of Johnny Rzeznik's "You're the closest to heaven that I've ever been and I don't want to go home right now" followed by "When everything is made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am" rang true and loud, this was the moment she decided to return, this was the penultimate point in our relationship - this was the rebirth.