It had started to rain. I turned back and began to jog again. As I ran along, I was looking at the surf and the high tide line. The tide had washed in the usual debris along with shells and skate egg cases. Then I noticed a dead puffer fish lying among the scattered reeds.
Puffer fish have a unique defense against predators.
They puff up their bodies like a balloon to make it impossible for a predator to swallow them. Many species also have spines that stick out all over their bodies when they puff up. This puffer fish lying dead on the beach was stuck in the puffed up state. Death had come and the fish had used the only defense it could, but it was in vain. There is no defense against death.