When I was in elementary school, a teacher told us about a strange experience they had.
Back when the teacher was in college, they were a long-distance track runner. They had moved to Tokyo from the Tohoku region and were living in a boarding house. Because the university track was far from where they lived, they had mapped out their own training course through the town to run every day.
One day, while running their usual route, they noticed a payphone by the park ringing. (Apparently, payphones do have phone numbers, but they aren’t made public. Anyway, having just come from the countryside, it was the first time the teacher had ever seen a payphone ringing, and it gave them quite a shock.)
Thinking, "Is someone around here expecting a call?", the teacher stopped and looked at the ringing phone, but no one seemed to be approaching it. Usually, if it rings for a while and no one answers, it stops, but even though no one was picking up, the phone just kept on ringing.
The teacher started to feel a little creeped out, but at the same time, a lot of curiosity welled up inside them: Who was calling? How did they know the payphone's number? The fact that it had been left ringing for so long must mean it was something important. Maybe someone had dialed the wrong number and was in trouble… All sorts of thoughts ran through their mind.
After hesitating, giving in to curiosity, the teacher finally picked up the receiver and said, "Hello?"
"Yes. Who is this?" a woman slightly past middle age replied in a suspicious voice.
Thinking it ridiculous that someone who called *them* was asking who *they* were, the teacher was about to snap back, "You're the one calling me, who is *this*?", when they heard a shocked voice gasp, "You! Is that T-o-o?" ("T-o-o" was the teacher's first name.)
The person on the other end of the line in shock was their own mother.
The teacher had all sorts of questions, but being completely confused, they stammered and stuttered. Their mother spoke rapidly: "Anyway, come back home right away. Your father collapsed just a little while ago. The doctor says his life isn't in danger, but he wants to see you." After rushing through this message and firmly telling them, "Now hurry up and get over here!", she hung up.
Panicking, the teacher went back to their boarding house and ended up making a sudden trip home that very day.
Still feeling unsettled about the whole thing, the teacher asked their mother about it after visiting their father in the hospital.
"Mom, about that phone call…"
"Oh! I was so surprised! Your dad collapsed so suddenly, and everything was just chaotic. I wanted to get in touch with you, but you don't have a phone at your place, so I didn't know what to do. But wow, what incredible timing for you to call! I had just gone to the hospital to look after him, and when I got back home, it was ringing right at that moment. I guess this is what they call a mother's intuition, isn't it?"
With their mother talking away and marveling over it, the teacher simply couldn't bring themselves to say that they had just answered a continuously ringing payphone out of sheer curiosity.