where do nana and mariam live, and why do they live there ?

Nana said she did not want to live anywhere near neighbours that would pry and fake kindness to her when she was pregnant.

It was on the outskirts of Gul Daman. To get to it, one took a rutted, uphill dirt track that branched off the main road between Herat and Gul Daman. The track was flanked on either side by knee-high grass and speckles of white and bright yellow flowers. The track snaked uphill and led to a flat field where poplars and cottonwoods soared and wild bushes grew in clusters.