"I have heard that they are souls returning to the realm of earth after they have been away," he shifts slightly to allow her to curl up next to him in the way that she just seems to 'fit' against his body. Automatically, instinctively, he begins to stroke her hair, the motion gentle. "Whether that is true or not, I do not know."

(Briefly, he wonders if stars fell on the day he arrived in the desert.)

"But it is that way with most legends. The stories are passed down."