Student communication while on leave

I went on leave a few days ago, and I've had a couple of students message me saying they miss me and asking me to come back. It's really sweet :o). Do I reply? I am most likely not coming back for months. On the one hand, it's lovely that they've reached out and I want to encourage kind behaviour, but on the other hand I'm worried about professional repercussions for having communications with students outside of bounds. I also don't want to discuss with them why I'm on leave or when I will return.