Diamond and A Torch

I stood there at the river bank, stark naked, About to take my own destiny in my hands. With the whole village watching and my mother cried and begged me not to jump into the river.

Just two days ago news came into the village that there is something strange in the river, we all rushed to see what this might be but all we saw was a glow in the river something shinning with a great light as bright as oga Ebere's bulb when he puts on his new generator.
All our lives in that village we have never seen such not even our fore fathers witnessed a thing like this in their time. Like typical villagers we could only come up with a conclusion that it must be diamonds from a python's head based on the myths we've been told about pythons.

We all wanted this diamond as it looks like a blessing from the gods, but we were all scared to dive in and claim it, and since it was found in the community stream it means it belongs to the whole village.

It became a question of who will bell the cat, what if the python is just resting or what if it was a trap set for anyone who will dive in to claim it.
Though we've been warned by the elders not to mention it to anyone outside our small community so the next villages will not hear of it and partake in the blessing our gods have gifted us with. We are still looking for who to go in and bring out this precious stone and the day is almost gone, night has come upon us and the diamonds shine brighter from under water.

As night draws closer my mind is been made up but then I needed some sort of protection in case I encounter any strange force, "I will cross the big river to the next village" I said to myself "I hear they have powerful native doctors there".
While I was plotting my way on getting the diamond. Our village pastor whom we've all known as onye-ukachukwu has gone to the stream with a bottle of schnapp and some cola nut to appease the gods of the water and thanking it for the blessing it brought our way. The whole village was surprised that a Pastor will be giving in to fetish gods, then I knew how powerful that diamond must be and it's worth must be very huge.

At this point my mind is made up, I will be the hero the village is clamouring for, if I get this diamond out of the water, even though it proceeds will be shared by the community, I am sure I will get the lion share.
I took the small money I had on me went to the market and bought a goat then I went to the river and boarded a boat to the next village and I wasn't disappointed, I did meet a powerful native doctor who did some charm for me and he gave me some eggs and other materials I will use for incantations after collecting my goat.
That same night I went back to the village with an instruction that the incantation must be done stark naked without any cloths before I go in to claim the precious stone that will transform my life and that of my family for good.

That morning I woke up early and headed straight to the river where this great diamond that has given my people a cause of concern, my mother had pleaded that I don't do it, it is better we be in poverty than I go and kill myself, but I've made up my mind already, it is better I die trying to get rich than remain in a state of squalor.
News has gotten to the village about my bravery and like it was the village masquerade festival everyone have gathered at the stream waiting for me to do what no one was brave enough to do.
I have broken two eggs already standing fully naked in the midst of the entire village, even the elders of the village stood and watch while I make myself a hero for the village, as I broke the last egg and did the final incantation I jumped right into the river and headed straight down to the bottom but what I saw was different from what the community was actually waiting for.

I stayed under the water for some minutes and some where already thinking I was dead or maybe it was too heavy for me to pull out but I was stuck with great disappointment and I couldn't just come out with what I saw in place of the claimed diamond.
Finally I decided to surface out of the water to show my people that my bravery was actually vain, instead of the diamond I came out with a torch in my hand, which probably was dropped off by one of those night fishermen.

As I stood with the torch in my hand, I watched everyone walking out feeling disappointed and not even a sign of pity for my wasted effort, I thought about my goat, the journey to the native doctor for protection, the millions I would have made from the sale of the torch or diamond.
I was too dumbfounded to leave the spot, the water has dried off from my body. Now instead of feeling like a hero I felt more stupid in the sight of the entire village.

Till this day I'm been called diamond man, just for expressing my stupidity for a common torch.