Earlier, when the tide was a few feet higher, I had brushed against a jellyfish and got lucky. The tentacles were drifting away from me.
Getting stung by jellyfish is a July ritual for folks who enjoy bouncing in the bay. Not fun, but not terrible, either, so long as its one of our more common critters.
This particular jelly, unlikely the one I encountered earlier, got too close to the edge, and now it sits under the dying light of last night’s sunset.
As different as we are, we share many of the same proteins, the same DNA code, the same need for sunlight to keep us alive.